


Beautiful Miracle

by The_Green_Eyed_Girl



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, I'm sorry I exist my brain is stupid, M/M, Mpreg, Teen Pregnancy, pregnant!Liam
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-01-19
Updated: 2015-03-28
Packaged: 2018-01-09 07:18:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 22,298
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1143107
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/The_Green_Eyed_Girl/pseuds/The_Green_Eyed_Girl
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Liam was in love with Louis, and Louis was in love with Liam. They had been this way for two years- and had learned not to be overly surprised when the unexpected happens.</p>
<p>But when their lives are suddenly turned upside down, and they find themselves in a position they never considered possible, will they find somethings are just too hard to cope with?</p>
<p>Or can they learn to embrace their beautiful little miracle?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Liam gasped and fell back against the cold tile wall of the bathroom. He hated being sick, he hated throwing up, and he hated not knowing what was wrong with him. He was panting from the force of vomiting what felt like everything he’d ever eaten in his entire life, and nearly didn’t hear the door open downstairs.  _Nearly._

His throat constricted suddenly and he tried to silence his breathing, because if it was Louis, he didn’t want the older boy to see him this way. He didn’t want him to worry, or worse, to think Liam was weak. He heard a voice shout, “Li!? You home?!”

The tone was Irish, though, and he relaxed. Liam released a breath he didn’t know he’d been holding, and tried to force himself to sit up straighter. He heard footsteps coming up the stairs, then Niall appeared around the door frame.

“Hey mate, what’s up? You weren’t at school today,” the blonde stated. He took a moment to observe Liam’s pale face and the fact that he was sitting on the bathroom floor, trembling, then made a noise of acknowledgment and crouched beside him. “You alright?”

“No,” Liam choked. He had been half an hour before, but then he’d been hit with a crippling wave of nausea. Now he wasn’t sure if talking was such a good idea, because he still felt as though he were about to throw up any second.

Niall sighed and looked thoughtful. “Liam, this happened last week, too. And the week before that. And even before that, remember, because the first time we thought it was from that meatloaf they had at the cafeteria, because Harry was sick that week too? I think you need to get checked out, mate.”

Liam immediately shook his head, and regretted doing so because the swift movement made the world seem to tip out of balance. “No way, I’m fine, it’s probably just a virus or something. I’ll get over it. Besides, it’s just off and on.”

“But Liam, this isn’t the only thing, is it? You said the other day you’ve been getting headaches and that you’re tired all the time. This could be serious, man, you need to be seen about.”

Liam sighed and turned a bit away from Niall. The boy was his best friend; had gone with him through the awkward first years of adolescence, been a constant companion in the war-zone that was secondary school, and had seen him through an ever-deepening crush on the school’s football player, Louis Tomlinson. Niall had been the one to push Liam into getting to know the goofy then-sixth year, was the very reason that the two had been together for two perfect years.

But even after so much time, Liam still hated it when Niall was right.

Which he was, of course, Liam had to admit that he’d been feeling off for a while. Two months, really, but it hadn’t gotten noticeable until recently. He forced himself to stand, with Niall supporting him much more than Liam’s pride wanted to admit.

“Good?” Niall asked, letting go of Liam’s arm. Liam blinked a few times until he didn’t feel so dizzy, then nodded. “Alright, come on,” Niall goaded, leading the way from the bathroom.

“Ni?” Liam asked when they were in Niall’s truck. The Irishmen glanced sideways at him and hummed a response. “Where exactly are we going, the hospital?”

Niall nodded. “Don’t know where else to go.”

Liam just nodded and tried to relax. He told himself that it would be over soon, then he was probably fine, and in a few days everything would be back to normal.

But by the time they arrived at the hospital, Liam was pale and near trembling in his seat. Niall gave him a sympathetic look, then they both stepped out of the truck and made for the front doors

Niall walked to the front desk and spoke quickly to the receptionist. Liam stood beside him, too nervous to talk for himself. The women nodded and motioned them both to the waiting room. They sat there for what felt like hours, though it was only around thirty minutes, and finally-

“Payne?”

Liam stood shakily and Niall followed, placing a hand on his friend’s shoulder. “Do you want me to go back with you?”

Liam shook his head. “No, it’s fine. It-it probably won’t be that long anyways..”

Niall nodded. “Okay. I’ll be in the car when you’re done,” he assured, then slipped out of the building. Liam swallowed thickly, nodded to no one in particular, and walked slowly after the nurse down the hall.

They turned into a stark white room that smelled sterile and of chemicals, none of which were helping the nausea Liam still felt. The nurse nodded to the metal examination table and asked Liam to sit down.

“Okay, I’m going to ask you some questions, alright? I need truthful, accurate answers.”

Liam nodded.

“Your friend said you’ve been vomiting and feeling a bit under the weather lately, correct? For about how long has this been happening?”

“I started feeling weird about two months ago, I mean not exactly, maybe a little less, but about. Then these past few weeks I’ve been nauseous and getting these headaches.”

“Did you go somewhere two months ago that you could have contracted a bug, or did you do something that you wouldn’t normally?”

Liam grew quiet because, yes, he had done something he’d never done before. It wasn’t something he wanted to tell the nurse about, but at the same time he was horrible at lying. She quirked an eyebrow at him.

“Liam? Did you hear me?”

He nodded. “Yeah, I mean, I just.. is it really important?”

“It would help identify what’s wrong with you, maybe rule out the need for blood tests.”

“…My mum won’t find out about this, will she?”

The nurse fought back a grin because, she should have known. “If she doesn’t have to, then no. But if this is something you’ll need to be hospitalized for, then…” The nurse trailed off and gave a shrugged.

“I sort of, well, slept with my boyfriend… we used protection though, we were careful..”

The nurse blinked, she had a suspicion now about what was ailing the boy, but it didn’t make very much sense. “Sometimes protection doesn’t work very well… Liam, could you go over your symptoms again?”

“Headaches and vomiting, really, that’s it.”

She nodded and scribbled something on her clipboard. “Have you been eating more lately, or felt hungrier?”

“Maybe a bit, why?”

The nurse ignored his question and asked one of her own. “Have you been feeling fatigued at all? Like you get tired easier than you normally would?”

Now Liam blinked, and he looked a bit worried. “Uh, yeah, I suppose… what’s that mean?”

“It means you need to fill this up,” she answered, taking a plastic cup from the table beside her. “There’s a bathroom just across the hall.”

Liam took the cup, his hand shaking nervously, and walked into the bathroom. It took awhile, because he felt quite nervous and under pressure, but finally he returned to the room and handed the cup to the nurse.

“I’ll be right back. Just have a seat, alright?”

Liam nodded and sat back down on the table, his heart thudding in his chest and throat feeling dry. Sometime after he started trembling violently but before he started hyperventilating, the door opened and a woman came in.

It was not the nurse, though, and over her blue scrubs the woman wore a white coat, with a name tag that read, “Dr. Janes”. Liam swallowed.

“Hi, you’re Liam?” she smiled politely. Liam nodded slowly. “Alright. I’m Dr. Janes. I can see you’re a bit nervous right now, yeah?”

Again, Liam nodded. Vaguely he wondered just how many years it took her in medical schools to figure that out.

Dr. Janes nodded thoughtfully. “Well, Liam, it’s a bit interesting what we found. You aren’t sick, though, I promise.”

Liam bit his lip, should he feel relieved or more concerned? “Then.. what’s wrong with me?”

Dr. Janes gave him a look which Liam thought was almost sympathetic. She sighed and took a seat, and Liam swallowed, because it normally wasn’t a good sign when the doctor sat down.

“From what you’ve told us, and from the urine sample..,” she trailed off for a moment, then her eyes flickered up to meet Liam’s. He sucked in a breath, and bit his lip hard enough that he tasted blood- he didn’t like the look she was giving him.

 

 

 

 

*           *           *

 

Niall flipped disinterestedly through the old magazine he’d found in the dashboard of the truck. He felt a bit worried because Liam was taking longer than Niall thought he would. He was just about to go back into the hospital to see if something was wrong, when the passenger door opened and Liam slid shakily onto the seat. Niall turned to him to see that he was trembling madly, his skin was greyish pale, his eyes unfocused, and his hand was pressed gently against his stomach.

“What happened? Did they tell you what’s wrong?” Niall asked, tilting his head with concern. He’d never seen Liam so shaken before.

Liam gulp thickly and slowly brought his gaze to meet with Niall’s. “Ni..,” he breathed.

“What is it? Come on Liam, what did they tell you?”

Liam forced himself to stop shaking, and took in a rigid breath. He dropped his gaze and stared at the dashboard in front of him, worrying his lip.

“Niall, I’m… I’m  _pregnant.”_


	2. Chapter 2

The ride home was silent. Liam was still in shock and Niall simply could not think of anything to say and so stayed quiet.

As they drew closer to his home, Liam began to run through scenarios in his head. Some with his mother, how she would handle the news- not well, if past experiences with her were anything to go by. But the most important thoughts Liam had were of the baby’s other father, Louis.

What would the older boy think? Would he want to be a father, and would he want to have a child with Liam? Louis was a freshman at a nearby university, and played on the school’s reserve football team. He had a flat in the city, and a part-time job in his school’s campus library. His lifestyle wasn’t wild, but it was set in at the moment, and Liam worried about what his reaction would be to the news that he was about to be a father.

They were stopped at a red light when Niall finally voiced the source of Liam’s anxiousness.

“Man, you’ve got to tell Louis.”

Liam nodded dimly and drew his attention from the car window as the truck picked up speed once again. “I know, but… How am I suppose to tell him this, Niall? What do I do? Just go up and be like, ‘Hey, Louis, by the way I’m pregnant with your baby.’ He’ll think I’m a freak!”

Niall gave his friend and sidelong glance and took note of the desperation in his eyes. “Do you really think you can hide this from him?  _Really?_  I don’t know if you understand the whole baby thing, Li, but it’s going to get noticeable eventually.”

Liam shifted self-consciously in his seat. “I know  _that_ , smart ass.”

“Mood swings much?” Niall grinned. When Liam fell silent, Niall sighed and continued, “How bad do you think it’ll be, Liam? Louis is a good guy, I know that for fact or else I would have ripped his manhood out through his nose by now. I think he’ll shocked at first, but then he’ll be excited. I mean, look at the way he talks about his little sisters. Obviously, he likes kids- which usually means that he wants kids of his own someday. And didn’t you always say you wanted to be dad?”

“When I said that, I didn’t mean while I was still in school- and I assumed that we'd have to adopt, not that I would carry the baby!”

Niall shrugged. “But you still said it! And now you know that you actually can have children that are biologically yours and  _Louis_ ’, and that’s more than can be said for most.”

“You’re saying I should be grateful my life is basically over? I should be grateful that my mum’s probably going to disown me? Grateful that there’s every chance in the world that Louis is going to here this and run? Fine, sure- let’s go to the US and see if it’s Thanksgiving yet because boy am I in the spirit!” Liam snapped. He nausea was back, his nerves were at their end, and the conversation wasn’t helping either in the slightest.

Niall gripped the steering wheel a bit tighter and ground his teeth for a moment. Liam saw the signs of thinning patience and instantly felt guilty- Niall had only been trying to help. But he couldn’t bring himself to apologize, and so fell silent again.

The truck pull into the drive of Liam’s home soon after, and Liam stepped out. He was nearing the front door when he heard the truck’s door open, and Niall call, “Liam, tell him soon, okay? I don’t thing it’ll be as bad as you imagine.”

Liam turned to acknowledge his friend. “I’ll tell him…”

“Today.”

“Today,” Liam agreed, feeling his stomach turn as the words left his lips. “Thanks for the ride, Ni..”

Niall nodded. “S’nothing. Do you want me to stay with you until Lou gets out of class?”

Liam shook his head, and even managed a half-hearted grin. “No, I’ll be fine. But thanks, mate.”

Niall nodded again and slid back into the truck, then pulled out of the drive as Liam walked into the house.

As soon as the door closed, Liam almost wished he’d take Niall up on his offer to stay- the house was too quiet. He walked silently up the stairs and into his room, then sat on his bed with his back to the headboard. He pulled his phone from his pocket and opened his contacts.

His finger hovered over the ‘call’ button beneath Louis’ name. He thought of Louis, thought of how at the moment, Louis was living in an ordinary world. His life was as it always was, and as far he knew, all it would be for a while yet. But by making a simple call, Liam could shatter that peace and order. He could disrupt his lover’s otherwise content life- but the call had to be made.

He forced his finger down before his nerves could get the better of him, and held the phone to his ear. It rang several times, until finally Liam was answered by familiar sound of Louis’ voice mail.

He waited for the signal to start talking. “Louis, it’s Liam… Look, there’s something kind f important we need to talk about.. it’s really, really important, actually… just… please, call me back when you hear this? I love you, Lou- talk to you later…”

As he hung up his phone, he cursed himself for his stuttering. Louis was nothing if not prone to panicking- the uneasy tone of the message was sure to set him off.

Liam let out a breath and placed his phone on the end table beside his bed. He stretched out his legs and glanced down at where his hand was resting on his stomach, wondering how on  _earth_  there could be a baby in there.

Other that nausea and headaches, he didn’t  _feel_ any different. He didn’t feel heavier or too awfully moody, and as he rubbed his hand across his stomach he felt no bump or rise of any kind. According to the doctor he was early on in the pregnancy, but he couldn’t help but wonder if he’d made this all up in his mind. How could be having a baby, what made him so different from the billions of other men in the world?

He slid down and curled slightly onto his side. He wasn’t physically tired so much as mentally drained, and wished more than anything to have someone with him who could make him feel more at ease. Louis was more than likely still in class, and he had football practice after that- Liam wondered what the odds of him checking his phone between the two periods was.

With his mind a turbulent windstorm, he dropped into an uneasy sleep. Nightmares about the days to come haunted his dreams, and uncertainty filled his rest with anxiety. One thing was quite clear, though- that day would mark the changing of his life, and there was no going back.


	3. Chapter 3

Liam wasn't sure how long he'd slept, but quite obviously it was long enough for Louis to get out of class, get the phone call, and get to Liam's house- because there was an incessant knocking coming from the door downstairs.

Liam rose groggily from his bed and drew in a deep breath- something that was meant to calm him but was not working so well. He knew that he shouldn't be nervous, that this was Louis and that it would all be okay, but _what if's_ ran constantly through his mind.

The walk down the stairs and across the living room was shorter than Liam thought it should be, and he found his hand on the doorknob sooner that anticipated. He let his mind catch up with his body for a moment, took another breath, then opened the door.

Before the door had even opened fully, Liam was stumbling back from the force of Louis tackle-hugging him, wrapping his arms around him and making breathing quite difficult.

“..Lou?”

It took the older boy a moment to reply. “You sounded scared and upset on the voice mail. Like you needed a hug.”

Liam bit his lip, but didn't fight the contact. Instead he buried his face into the crook of Louis' neck.

“Liam, baby, what's wrong?” Louis asked gently, releasing the tension in his arms to hold Liam more tenderly. He wrapped his arms around Liam's waist and set his chin on his shoulder.

“I..It's just... Louis..,” Liam began, but every time he opened his mouth to say it, he couldn't finish his sentence. Suddenly he was shaking, and tears were forming in his eyes. Louis' eyes widened and tried to soothe Liam by rubbing gently up and down the boy's back, but it didn't seem to have any effect.

“Liam, it's okay, take your time. Whatever it is, just breath, it'll be alright,” Louis assured, pulling away enough so that he could look into Liam's eyes. Liam's arms were no longer around Louis' neck, but pressed again his chest so that Liam felt completely sheltered.

“I'm sorry, Louis, but... it's like, I want to tell you, you know? But at the same I don't. But _at the same time_ , I can't hide it forever, so it's like, tell you now, or wait until you find out on your own- _after_ the inevitable series of wrong assumptions, and just... I'm really, really scared, Louis.. I've never been this scared before..”

The more Liam spoke, the more panicked he became. His breathing came forced and shallow, and the tears in his eyes threatened to spill at any moment- Louis had never seen his boyfriend so visibly upset, and looking so fragile and vulnerable. Liam continued rambling, but his words became so fast that Louis couldn't understand them all.

“Liam-”

“-This is going to kill us, I just know it, it's not normal, it shouldn't happen-”

“Liam, please, calm down-”

“-You'll leave me, I know you will, because it's weird and your life is good right now and this is the last thing you need-”

“Liam-”

“Louis I, I-”

“Liam!”

“ _Louis I'm pregnant-_ ”

Louis' mouth fell open and his eyes widened. It suddenly seemed very quiet, like the entire world had been silenced by Liam's revelation. His mind screamed for him to move, saw that the longer he remained silent, the more upset and worried Liam became. But Louis couldn't move, he was paralyzed. Thoughts racing through his head, most along the lines of: _How are we going to take care of it? What is this going to do our futures? How did this even happen?_

_...will I be a good father?_

It was when Liam began to actually cry, softly and quietly, and the older boy heard a small and broken-sounding ' _Louis?_ ' that he finally snapped out of his daze and pulled Liam firmly into his arms again. The action broke what little resolve Liam had mustered, and he cried even harder now- letting out his anxiety, but also reveling in relief.

“Shh, it's okay.. everything's alright, now, Liam, you'll see...”

He managed to close the still-open door with his foot, then carefully maneuvered both of them to the couch. After fifteen minutes of crying from Liam and gentle words of comfort from Louis, the younger boy began to calm down and his breathing settled. He stayed curled against Louis, wrapped in his arms and lying his head gently against the older boy's collar. He felt the soft, soothing kisses that Louis pressed into Liam's straightened hair and the way he stroked tenderly up and down Liam's back.

“Are you okay, Liam?” Louis asked after he was sure that Liam was calm enough to answer. Liam nodded as best he could, worried that his voice would fail him. Louis sighed and held him closer.

“Good,” he stated, moving to kiss Liam's forehead. “So... a baby?”

Again, Liam nodded. He pulled away from Louis enough to hold his head level with the older lad's, but stayed close enough that their hands remained clasped together. He was watching for a reaction, worried that Louis still might reject the whole idea of being a father. Worried that he still might leave.

“How far along are you?” Louis asked gently, sliding his hand from Liam's and instead rubbing his arm as he leaned closer to the worried boy. Louis' eyes were full of a mixture of wonder, pride, and love- all emotions that Liam had not expected.

“Not even two months yet. Almost, but not quite,” Liam answered equally softly, a small smile beginning to pull at the corners of his lips. For the first time since learning of the baby, Liam thought he might just be feeling something other than dread and fear. With Louis by his side, it didn't seem so terrible- perhaps Liam could even feel excitement for it.

“Is it okay? The baby, I mean, they're alright? And what about you? How do you feel? Have you had any morning sickness yet or anything?” Louis rambled softly. He wanted to scream and run in circles, to grab Liam and kiss him. He wondered if he should be worried about what this would do to their futures anymore- after all, it was done and it wouldn't change. They would work through this together, they would learn how to be a family even if it meant giving up on things that they'd already planned for.

“The morning sickness was what had me going to the doctor's in the first place, well, that and Niall forcing me to go. But I'm okay... _we're_ okay,” Liam replied, peaking out from behind the bangs that had fallen into his face.

Louis' smiled widened and his voice cracked as he called, “ _Oh Liam!”_ He pulled the younger boy back into his arms with enough speed and force to draw a stifled ' _oof'_ from his lips. Liam settled into the embrace and wrapped his own arms around Louis' neck. He felt Louis grinning broadly, and he couldn't help but smile, too.

_Niall was right again. Louis' happy about this, he's not leaving. I'm not in this alone._ Liam realized. A shudder of excitement ran down his spine, and he pulled his head back to lay his forehead against the side of Louis' face. Louis turned as well, and the two stared at one another a smiled for a long time. Finally, with an odd burst of laughter, Louis moved forward pressed his lips against Liam's. The series of kisses that ensued was punctuated by soft giggles from both boys. In the back of their minds, they were terrified- they wondered what they were going to do, since Liam still had the entire months of both April and May to finish his last year of secondary school. Hovering over them, also, was the task of telling Liam's mother, who held a special dislike for Louis anyway, that her seventeen-year-old son with the promising future was now somehow pregnant with Louis' baby. The months ahead would be hard enough, they knew, and then the years to follow- raising a baby when they were barely adults themselves? It would be a nearly impossible task.

But at that moment, lost in each other's love, they couldn't find it in themselves to care. They were going to be parents now- they were having a family. Alone, the thought was enough to reduce either of them to tears, but together, the idea held promises of a good future. Things would change, it wouldn't be long before the ecstasy wore off and nerves set in, but for the time, they lived in the moment.


	4. Chapter 4

They sat curled into one another for nearly half an hour before either would even think about shifting their position. Even then, they stayed close to each other- Liam lying his head gently against Louis' chest, and Louis keeping his arms wrapped tightly around Liam's waist.

“It's just so unreal,” the older boy murmured. Liam nodded.

“I know... I still keep waiting to wake up and realize it was all a dream.”

Louis settled his head against the back of the couch. “Hm.. you said Niall already knows?”

Liam nodded.

“I know you want to keep this quiet for as long as you can, especially with your mum,” Louis began, “but could we tell Zayn? He won't tell anyone else- and even if he did, who does he know that we know other than Niall and Harry? Niall already knows, and Harry not the type of person to go blathering about stuff like this.”

Liam moved so that his forehead was against the side of Louis' jaw. “...You aren't worried about what he'll think? Zayn's old-school, Louis.”

“Zayn's bisexual, I don't think that counts as old school. Unless you're talking about Frobisher from  _Cloud Atlas_ \- 'cause he was bi  _and_  he was from the late eighteen hundreds and that was pretty old.”

“Frobisher wasn't bisexual he was just a manwhore, Louis. And I don't mean about the sexuality thing, Zayn's known about us longer than  _we've_  known about us. But like, we're aren't  _married_ are we? We're just dating. And teenagers. Yet we're having a baby, do you see where I'm going with this?”

“Correction. You are a teenager. I'm twenty,” Louis grinned. He hummed lightly in the back of his throat. “And I mean I'm pretty sure Zayn knows that we've had-”

“Okay just call him please!”

Louis chuckled and took in the pained grimace Liam was giving him. “Babe, you're literally the most innocent human being I've ever met.” He sat up, as did Liam, though Louis' left arm stayed hooked around his back. Louis pull his cellphone from his pocket and hit Zayn's number from his contact list.

“Lou, hey mate, what's up?” Zayn asked. He sounded a tad winded, and Louis could also hear laughter in the background.

“Uh, am I interrupting something?” Louis wondered if he and Liam should just throw out their past conversation about Zayn being “old school”.

“What? No! No no no, it's not like that-” Zayn began, but a shout of “ _Z get the actual fuck off of me I can't breathe”_ cut him off.

“Um..,” Louis muttered. His cheeks went red and he gave Liam a wide-eyed look. Liam was too busy laughing his ass off to be any help.

“ _Dammit Niall shut up you're not helping!_ ” Zayn hissed.

“Is Niall there?” Louis asked. Liam calmed himself down enough to looked shocked.

“Yes, and he's being an ass.”

“ _I am not!”_

Zayn blew roughly threw his nose. “Yes you are!” he shouted back. “Louis, man, is there something going on? Niall came over here telling me that there was but he keeps laughing and grinning like the idiot he is and saying that I'll find out later.”

“I think I know what it is,” Louis stated. He was smiling softly now, and he looked at Liam. “Zayn, Liam's pregnant... I'm going to be a father,” he breathed shakily, his voice wavering on the final words. Louis felt Liam lie his head on his shoulder, and Louis smiled. He tightened his grip on the younger boy.

“He's what..? I must have missed that biology lesson,” Zayn replied, but Louis could physically hear him smiling on the other end of the line. “But man, that's incredible- congrats to both of you, I mean, wow.”

“Yeah, mate, I know, it's.. I still can't believe it.”

He looked down to find Liam smiling softly at him, and Louis' heart melted. He pressed a silent kiss onto his forehead.

“ _Can we be uncles?!”_ came Niall's shout again. Louis rolled his eyes.

“Zayn, please tell your boyfriend to stop screaming. He's loud enough without it, can hear both of you just fine.”

“Aye, first: not my boyfriend. Second: and hold the phone away from your ear for a bit here:  _Niall shut the fuck up!_ ” There was silence for a moment, then, “Okay, now he's pouting.”

Louis laughed lightly. “Sorry man. Look, I have to go, but I'll see you in class Monday, yeah?”

“Yeah. Or hey, we could get everyone together and hang out someplace, like maybe tomorrow since it's Saturday? I don't have any classes and I'm pretty sure you don't either.”

“Nice to know you've memorized both of our schedules. And sure, perfect, Liam and I will get Harry and you just make sure Niall knows- we'll be over sometime tomorrow. See you then, man.”

He placed his phone onto the coffee table and quickly wrapped both arms around Liam. He pulled both of them back, until Liam was more-or-less lying on top of Louis.

Liam giggled and sat his chin on Louis' collar, so he could still look into his eyes. Louis smiled at him.

“Are you nervous, Li?” Louis asked.

“A little. But not as much as I was.. you make me feel better.”

Louis grinned. “I haven't done anything that great since coming here, have I?”

“But you're here, you're still here. That's what makes me feel better.”

Louis frowned, and Liam wondered if he'd said something wrong. “Of course I am, Liam, where else would I be? You didn't think I'd leave you, did you?”

Liam looked away for a moment. “I.. didn't know, at first. I was really scared, I mean I get now that it was stupid to think that way, but at the time... I couldn't stop thinking about what would happen if you  _did_ leave.”

Louis tightened his grip on Liam. “Liam, I promise, I will never leave you.  _Especially_ not over something like this! We're going to be parents, Liam, we're going to have a baby- no matter how scary it might be, just remember I'm here for all of it. Every last second, okay?”

Liam nodded. He was tearing up again and didn't think his voice could hold.

Louis smiled and rubbed the small of Liam's back gently. He set his head back against the arm of the couch. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of the clock.

_5:53._

“Liam, when does your mother get home?” Louis asked nervously, giving the clock his full attention now.

“Six, why? Is it close to-” he turned to the clock and his eyes widened. “Well shit.”

Liam sat up, and Louis followed him. “I should go, she won't be happy to see me here; last time she threatened to call the police, remember?”

Liam frowned, but nodded. He was giving Louis a pleading look, and it was very much like that of a wounded puppy. Louis hugged him tightly.

“I'll see you tomorrow, babe, okay? I'll be here at like ten in the morning, I promise. We'll spend some time together at my flat or something, then go get Harry and meet up with Niall and Zayn. It'll be great, help you get your mind off of things.”

Liam nodded, but still looked a bit shaken. “Should I.. should I tell her tonight? About the baby?”

“Do you want to?”

Liam shook his head. “No, I want to wait.. but if you think I should...”

“No, Li, if you're not ready to tell her, then don't. There's still time before you start really showing, and even then it'll be a little while before you won't be able to put it off as just weight gain,” Louis stated carefully. He pulled away but kept his arms around Liam to continue comforting the younger boy.

“What if I slip up, though? What if it just comes out?” Liam asked. “You know what she'll do, Louis, and I know it, too....”

Louis brought a hand to cup the side of Liam's face. “I think she cares about you more than that, Liam, I really do. But if something happens, then call me. Get yourself out of the situation, keep calm, and call me. I'll come get you, then we'll figure out what to do from there,” Louis replied. He leaned in and pressed a gently kiss to Liam's lips.

When he pulled away, he whispered softly, “I love you,” then stood to leave. Liam returned the words, and brought his legs underneath him.

Louis left just in time, as hardly a minute had passed before Liam's mother pulled into the drive.

Liam stood from the couch and greeted her at the door, doing his best not to appear nervous.

Karen smiled as she walked in the door. “Liam, are you feeling better? You looked so ill this morning,” she chirped. Liam nodded.

“Yeah, a lot better,” Liam replied, amazed at the strength of his voice. He vaguely remembered the excuse he'd used with Niall earlier that afternoon, when the Irishman had found him pale and shivering on the bathroom floor. “Guess it was a virus or something.”

Karen smiled again. “Good, so you'll be back school Monday, then? Best not miss too many days, you know, exams aren't far.”

“It's only March, the A level exams aren't until May.”

Karen frowned. “It doesn't matter. You should still be worried be about them, you do want to go to university, don't you?” He tone implied that no matter Liam's answer, he would indeed be going. Liam bit his lip.

_Yeah, sure. Uni. Yay. Stay up half the night studying, the other half taking care of a restless baby. Gonna be so much fun._

“Well?” Karen asked again, here eyes narrowed.

Liam gave her a painfully fake grin and nodded. “Yeah, of course,” he stated, then glanced towards the stairs. “I'm.. uh.. I'm going to go upstairs. A little tired I guess. See you in the morning.”

Karen nodded, still giving him an appraising look.

He quickly made it upstairs and to his room, then leaned back against the closed door. He pressed his hands against his flat stomach and looked down.

“Looks like your other daddy loves you, little one,” he whispered very softly. “And so do I, I promise, even if I was a little panicked earlier today. We'll both love you, always, okay?”

He smiled gently, then walked slowly to his bed. He exchanged his jeans for jogging trousers.

When he was comfortably situated on his side and had the blanket pulled up over his shoulders, he wrapped his arm carefully around his abdomen.

His smile faded slightly. “But your nan..,” he added quietly. “I can't make any promises about her.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so I know it took longer to get this out than it should have, and it should be a lot better this for the time it took.  
> But shit went down this week, and I've only just gotten my computer back, so that's why it's not so great. Also the first part was written at two in the morning and I was asleep most of the time.  
> I'll try to get the next chapter out before the coming week ends, so like maybe this next weekend. Can't promise, as you see how well I hold up promises, but I'll try my best.


	5. Chapter 5

The next day found Liam, at the beautiful hour of six in the morning, once more heaving the contents of his stomach in the toilet. It wouldn't have been so bad if only that would have been the first time that morning, but no- he’d been up since four.

He stayed in the bathroom long enough to recover his balance, then padded silently down the hall to his bedroom. As soon as he was back inside and the door was shut, he collapsed on the bed and groaned inwardly.

 _It’s this bad now,_ he thought.  _How am I going to handle it in a few months when being sick isn’t the only symptom showing up?_

Liam maneuver himself to the head of the bed and curled slightly- he was tired, but he knew that trying to sleep was pointless. Even if he could manage it, he wouldn’t have long before he was sick again.

But it would seem as though he wasn’t the only one who could not sleep that night; as his phone was vibrating against the nightstand.

Liam reached for it, then swiped his finger across the screen to answer. “Hello?”

“Liam, you’re actually awake? Wow, I was just taking a shot in the dark.”

Liam smiled lightly, because of all the people to call, it was Louis- perhaps the only person that he didn’t mind getting a call from at ass-o’clock in the morning. “Yeah, I’m up. Why are you, though?”

“..Why are  _you_ up?”

“I’m not playing this game, Louis,” Liam stated, sounded a bit more irritated than he actually was.

“Sorry babe,” Louis replied, though he sounded as though he was grinning and not sorry in the least. “Anyway, I was studying for an exam I have Monday, but I really didn’t want to so I called you to help me procrastinate.”

Liam hummed. “Should have known it was something like that.”

“Now will you tell me why you’re up?”

Liam frowned, though Louis couldn’t have seen that, and turned onto his back so that he was staring at the ceiling. “I’ve been throwing up since four. I can’t get back to sleep so I’m just kind of lying here waiting for ten to come around.”

He heard what could be classified as an ‘aww’ on the other end of the line. “Li, babe, are you really that sick? Is it bad? I can come over there, you know, like sneak in if you want me to.”

Liam grinned. “No, no, that’s alright. I’m fine, Louis, really, I am. It’s just morning sickness, it’s going to happen- and you can’t come running over here like Superman every time it does.”

Louis sighed. “I know… I’m just worried about you… I wish things were different, you know? I wish this could be like it always is in movies and books. Like how the other father is always there to help with the morning sickness and mood swings and everything. I feel like I won’t be able to do any of that because I can’t always be there with you.”

Liam bit his lip and considered Louis’ words. He was probably right, and having to acknowledge that fact was a bit upsetting for Liam- but he didn’t let on to this when he replied, “It’ll be alright, Louis, really. One day it will be like that, yeah? We’ll be together like a proper family, you and me and our baby. It’ll be perfect, we just have to wait for it.”

“You’re so good at putting words together and making them sound nice,” Louis hummed. “Liam? Do you think it’ll be alright if I picked you up earlier? Like at nine instead of ten? I know an hour doesn’t make much of a difference, but…”

“Yeah, I’d like that actually.”

The grin from the other end of the line was nearly audible. “Yeah? Okay, good, so… I should probably get back to studying- and you should try to get some more sleep, you know? I’ll see you at nine o’clock, Liam.”

“Alright,” Liam replied with a chuckle. “I love you, Louis. Goodbye.”

“Love you too, Li-bear.”

With these words, Liam hit end and set his phone carefully on the bed. He stared at it for a moment, occasionally tapping the screen so that the time would stay on it. He willed the minutes to tick by faster, because even though it was only yesterday that he had seen Louis, he already missed him. It was strange, three years ago he would have laughed at himself for being so needy.

 _I’m going to blame this on hormones,_  he decided, attempting to save any masculinity and independence he still possessed. He didn’t have very much time to worry about it, though, as he was soon back to sprinting for the bathroom.

At eight thirty, Liam decided it would be better to go downstairs than stay cooped in his room for the next half hour. He found his mother sitting at the kitchen bar reading the newspaper and drinking coffee.

“Morning, dear,” she called as Liam walked into the kitchen to grab an apple.

“Morning,” he returned. “Hey, uh, Mum?”

“Yes Liam?”

“Could I go out with some friends today? Like, actually, I was going to go over to-,” and he nearly said it then. He nearly blew it with the phrase ‘Zayn’s house’. But he couldn’t use that, because his mother knew by that time to connect Zayn with Louis. “Harry’s,” he amended seamlessly. Harry was perhaps the only one of Liam’s friends that his mother actually liked- and that was only because Harry was crafty enough to put on a good act when he needed to.

“Harry’s?” she asked. At first Liam wondered if she would believe him, and he began to wonder what would happen if she didn’t. But finally, she said, “Of course. Just don’t stay over too late.”

Liam smiled and nodded.

“But it’s just Harry, right? Not that Irish hoodlum or that…  _Tomlinson_?”

Liam rolled his eyes, He had almost allowed himself to feel relief. To think that, perhaps, his mother was beginning to change, but no. “Just Harry as far as I know, Mum,” he replied in a monotone.

He finished his apple quickly and tossed the core into the trash bin. He felt his phone vibrate in his pocket, and saw he had a text from Louis.

‘ _I’m outside love :)_ ’ it read. Liam smiled and grabbed his coat from the hook by the door.

“I’m gone, Mum, see you tonight,” he called over his shoulder. He didn’t wait to hear a reply and instead bounded down the driveway. He turned to follow the road right, as Louis never parked in front of Liam’s house. It was something of a rule- the ‘let’s keep Karen happy so she doesn’t kill anyone’ rule.

This time, though Liam could see Louis’ van farther down the road, Louis himself was standing against a light pole very near to Liam’s house. The tall bushes in the neighbor’s yard meant that he was still out of sight, but it still shocked Liam.

“Louis?” he called as he neared. Louis smiled at him and quickly covered the distance between to wrap his arms around Liam.

“Hey,” he greeted. Liam smiled now, too, though he was still confused.

“What are you doing here? I thought you’d be in your van.”

Louis shook his head as he turned to face the same direction as Liam. He slipped arm around Liam’s shoulders and they began walking towards the vehicle.

“I wanted to walk with you,” he stated cheerily. “Can’t let my pregnant boyfriend walk in the cold by himself, can I?”

Liam blushed. “I’m not so far along that I can’t take care of myself, Louis,” he murmured. Louis shook his head again.

“I didn’t mean it like that, Li, I just… like I said this morning, I can’t be there for much of the things that I should be there to help you through- but this is something I  _can_  do. Maybe it’s pointless right now, but I still want to do it.”

Liam nodded and gave him a small smile. “Okay,” he said. “But promise me something? You won’t go into over-protective boyfriend mode for now?”

Louis stopped and looked at Liam for a moment. “Fine. For now… but as soon as you start showing, I’m just warning you, I can’t really be held to that promise. I’m probably going to never let go of you, and there’s not anything that can be done to change it.”

Liam smiled a bit bigger and leaned to kiss Louis lightly. “I think I can live with that,” he stated as he pulled away. Louis grinned broadly at him, his cheeks a bit red, and he opened the passenger door for Liam. The younger boy sent him a look, but climbed into the truck anyway; if Louis was going to do that knight-act, then Liam could handle it for a few hours. It would wear off eventually… he hoped.

“So I called Zayn and he said it’d be cool if we just came straight over. Niall’s already there so we just need to pick Harry up.”

Liam nodded as Louis turned the truck around the face the proper direction. “Have you already called Harry?”

Louis had the decency to look sheepish. “Um, yeah… no.”

Liam rolled his eyes and settled into his seat as the van continued down the road. They soon reached a house a few blocks down that was quite familiar- the home of Harry, his mother, his stepfather, and his sister- when she was home from university.

Which, it would seem, she was.

Currently, she and Harry seemed to have been wrapped up in an intense argument, or at least Gemma was. Harry was just laughing while futilely trying to defend himself. Louis let down the window and shouted, “Oi! Styles!”

Harry, who had been backing away from his sister, looked back over his shoulder. He was grinning madly and gave a nod. He turned, said something in parting to Gemma, then bolted for the van. Liam stretched to open the back door for him. Harry dove in, his sister in pursuit, and said, “Drive,” as clearly as he could through his laughter. Louis let out a whoop and pulled away from the drive, Gemma fuming behind them with her arms crossed over her chest.

“What did you  _do_ , Harry?” Liam asked. Harry clambered into a sitting position and smiled brightly.

“Nicked her phone and sexted her boyfriend. His name’s Ben.”

Louis glanced for a second into the rearview mirror. “Why were you sexting him?”

Harry gave him a confused look. “To make sure he’s worthy, of course. It was a test. A pervert would like it, a good guy would be a bit disgust, but a  _great_ guy would play along in some weird way like, ‘hey this makes me uncomfortable but I’m going to use this opportunity to be weird and funny and let you see that even when you’re making me feel awkward it’s okay I’ll still be me for you’.”

“…Did he pass?”

Harry laughed. “With flying colors. But Gemma wasn’t very happy about the fact that I pretended to be a female while doing it. Particularly that the female I was pretending to be was her.”

“How anybody lives with you, Styles, is beyond me,” Louis snorted. Harry rolled his eyes.

“So, hey, I’m glad you guys came when you did and that we’re obviously going somewhere to hang out, because that’s great, I love hanging with you guys- but where are we going? I sort of just jumped in without knowing anything. Like you could have been a rapist for all I knew and I still would have thrown myself into the van.”

“Zayn’s house,” Liam stated. “Niall’s there, too.”

Harry grinned. “Oh, yeah? So all five of us together again? Sweet.”

Louis chuckled. “You make it sound like Zayn and I have been in university for fifty years or something.”

“You might as well have been! And next year, you’re all going to go off and have fun uni times together while I’m still stuck in secondary school!” Harry pouted playfully. Louis laughed.

“Not our fault you’re so much younger! Besides, it’s only a year of school without us, no big deal.”

Harry was still pouting.

Liam fidgeted in his seat. “Besides,” he continued, now more subdued and a bit quietly. “Niall’s the only one going, I don’t think I’ll be able to for at least another year…”

Harry perked up at this and looked over Liam curiously. “Why? Are you taking a gap?”

“Something like that,” Liam murmured. Out of some instincts that Liam wasn’t quite sure of the origin of, he wrapped one arm loosely over his stomach. Louis would look to him in short intervals, and he reached across the armrest to take a hold of Liam’s free hand.

Harry tilted his head. “What is it, then? Is something wrong?”

Liam swallowed and look desperately to Louis; he’d thought he could do it, could open his mouth and say the words out loud. He’d told them to Niall, he’d said them to Louis- Harry should be easy. But his voice was failing him.

Louis didn’t jump in with the words, though. Instead, he squeezed Liam’s hand. The action was small, but it gave Liam the confidence to say evenly, “Louis and I are going to be parents in a few months… I’m pregnant.”

Harry didn’t fall silent as Niall had, and he didn’t freeze like Louis. He didn’t respond with confusion the way Zayn did. No, he was Harry, and he responded the only way he knew how: with unbridled enthusiasm and excitement.

“A baby?! That’s so cool! And  _really, really cute_! Do you know what it’ll be yet, like a boy or a girl? Have you two thought of names or anything? What are you going to do when it comes, like since Liam is still in school? Or will you be out by your due date? When  _is_ the baby due? This is the best thing I’ve ever heard!” Harry all but screeched, throwing himself forward and putting his arms as best as he could around Liam and Louis’ shoulders.

Liam was startled by his sudden outburst, but Louis just smiled and laughed. “No, no, don’t know, probably, and… Liam, I suck at mental math, when is the baby due?” Louis replied. Liam blinked a few times and calmed form his surprise at Harry’s reaction.

“I’m almost two months now, and it’s only the beginning of April… so… end of October, start of November?”

“Aww,” Harry cooed, “an autumn baby! Or hey, what if you’re late and it comes in December? Like what if it’s born on Christmas or on New Year’s? That would be cool.”

“There’s absolutely nothing fun or cool about being a kid with a holiday birthday- it sucks. Massively,” Louis stated. Liam wasn’t listening, he had gone a bit pale.

“That… that doesn’t happen, right? Like, pregnancies don’t usually stretch that long, yeah? Because if that happens then that’s like… ten months… eleven if it’s New Year’s…”

“My mum said she was pregnant with Gemma for  _almost_ eleven, and that it was horrible. Like it got really bad- Dad says that, too, but I’m pretty sure that was only because she took out must of it on him.”

Liam felt a headache coming on.

Louis reached back and without looking, clapped a hand over Harry’s mouth. “Okay, that’s enough of the ‘let’s freak Liam out’ game. Play something else or I’m taking you back and we’ll see if Gemma is over the sexting thing yet or not.”

Harry laughed and settled back into his seat. The ride to Zayn’s flat wasn’t terribly long, and soon they were pulling into the public parking lot to the side of the complex. Liam made it a point to get out of the van before Louis so that the older boy couldn’t open the door for him. He knew Louis was just trying to be kind, but Liam didn’t want to be treated differently just because he was carrying a child- at least not while he still looked and felt relatively normal.

Together the three of them took the stairs up to Zayn’s floor- the elevator had broken down months before and had yet to be repaired. Finally they reached Zayn’s door.

Harry nearly knocked, but Louis shook his head and reached into his back pocket. He pulled out a key and unlocked the door.

“Since when did you have a key to Zayn’s flat?” Harry asked. Louis grinned.

“Since always? Zayn’s my best mate, why wouldn’t I have a key?”

Liam nudged Harry’s shoulder and chuckled at the way he stuck his tongue out childishly. Louis rolled his eyes and opened the door, and the trio entered the living room of the small flat. Niall sat on the back of the couch, backwards so that he was facing the door instead of the television. Zayn sat on the actual seat of the couch, and had been facing the correct way- though at present he was turned to view the door.

“Guys, you’re here!” Niall called, throwing his arms into the air and nearly falling backwards. Zayn caught him by wrapping an arm around the small of his back; causing Niall to blush profusely. Zayn retracted his arm slowly as Niall repositioned himself on the back of the couch.

“Yeah,” Louis said, eying them both carefully, “we’re here. So what’s the plan for the day?”

The plan was very loose, as in, there was none. They watched movies, played whatever games they could find, or just lie sprawled over the couch talking about things that were utterly pointless. It felt like it had in days passed, when all five were still in secondary school and, with the exception of Niall, under their parents’ roofs.

As Liam felt his nerves die down and his anxiety fall back, he couldn’t help but smile and laugh. He was scared, he was terrified beyond all imagining, but he was happy. Happy because, first and foremost, he had Louis- that much would always be enough to turn his day completely around. And second, he had his friends. He had Niall and Harry and Zayn, who were like family to him when his own couldn’t be the family he needed. They were all he’d ever need, and all he’d ever want.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Explanation time.  
> It's been a week longer than I told you it would be (okay almost two but still) and I am SO SO SO sorry for that. I told everyone on Tumblr what happened, and now it's time to let you know, as well.  
> My computer gave out.  
> Okay, so not completely, but the back of the screen is quite literally tearing away from the plastic that borders the actual glass (plexiglass... clear plastic that feels like glass??? What's a laptop screen even made of). The top's been threatening to come completely off its hinges anyways, and this was just the final straw- I was scared to open it. I was scared to touch it. I was scared to look at it. So I didn't.  
> But my grandfather had a Windows 8 Acer (which is like an insanely cool computer... not the one I wanted to get but always take free over $500 when the free things is okay too) and he's letting me use it until I can actually get a new computer.  
> So I hope having a extra long (okay average for most authors but 3087 words is a lot when I barely even hit this amount for one-shots, let alone chapters) makes up for the lateness? Probably not but eh...


	6. Chapter 6

The day passed in a blur. It wasn’t that the boys did anything to make it this way, it was simply that they were together- and perhaps also that Liam was dreading returning home.

The boys had been watching movies for the past four or so hours, a mixture of childhood animated favorites and newer movies boasting a more mature content and dialogue; they would even watch some that were truly terrible just for the opportunity to pick fun at the plots- or sometimes at one another as when Niall joking stated he was going to the video rental to get the movie _Junior_. Liam chose this moment to display the fact that he was still completely capable of running Niall down in an all-out sprint.

By sunset, though, both Niall and Harry lie unresponsive on the floor, Zayn watched the television without truly registering what it broadcasted, and Liam wavered in and out of consciousness. Louis was the only one of the five to remain somewhat alert. He reached for his phone, careful not to disturbed Liam, who was curled against his chest, and checked the time. It read that it was a bit past five at night, and Louis gave a small sigh. He didn’t want this time with the boys to end, and especially not this time with Liam.

Louis gently moved his arm around Liam’s waist and put his other over Liam’s chest to hook around his shoulder. “Liam,” he whispered. Liam’s face was against the crook of Louis’ neck, and so the older boy could feel Liam’s eyes flutter open. “C’mon, sweetheart, you need to wake up. It’s getting late.”

Liam rolled his shoulders carefully and pulled his head back to look at Louis. The older boy smiled and gave Liam a quick kiss. Liam wrapped his arms around Louis and smiled back sleepily.

Louis nuzzled his forehead, then stood alongside of him. “Zayn,” he called as quietly as he could. Zayn gave a start before looking to Louis.

Louis tilted his head. “Were you sleeping…?”

“With my eyes open?” Zayn asked groggily, “Possibly. I think so. What did you need, though?”

Louis kept one arm securely around Liam, who was leaning against his side and had his head lying on his shoulder. Louis took a moment to smile at him. “I think it’s time I took him home,” he stated, looking back to Zayn.

Zayn grinned and nodded. “Yeah, he looks pretty tired.” He stood from his place on the other end of the couch and stretched his arms into the air. He brought them back down with a hum of satisfaction and rolled his shoulders, then looked down at the floor. He was met with the sight of Harry sprawled over the carpet, one arm and one leg thrown haphazardly over Niall. Louis couldn’t have not seen the quick flash of what resembled jealously come across Zayn’s eyes.

It was gone by the time he looked up, though, and nodded to Louis. “Don’t worry about those two, Lou, I’ll call Harry’s mum so she knows where he is and Niall… well, hey, Niall pretty much does what he wants so no problem there.”

Louis nodded, choosing not to mention what he had seen to Zayn, and shifted so that Liam woke up enough to walk under his own power. He lifted his head and managed a small smile at Zayn.

Zayn laughed quietly and smiled back. “I’ll see you two lovebirds later, then.”

Louis rolled his eyes, still smiling, and led Liam by the hand to the parking lot and helped him into the van- the younger boy was too drowsy to argue.

Louis climbed into the driver’s seat, pulled onto the road, then stole a glance at Liam. He was curled in the passenger seat in a way to allow him to rest his head against the window. Louis smiled fondly, then pushed the armrest in the middle of the bench seat up.

“Li,” he called gently.

“Hmm?” Liam responded without opening his eyes.

“C’mere, in the middle. Pretty sure leaning on me would be a lot more comfortable than the door.”

“You’re driving,” Liam argued, his eyes opened now and his face turned a bit towards Louis.

Louis pouted and took a hand off of the wheel to reach toward Liam. “Please?”

Liam smiled softly before giving in, taking off his seatbelt and moving to the middle, then replacing the belt with the one for the middle seat. Louis smiled triumphantly, never once taking his eyes off of the road. Liam resumed his curled position in the seat, though this time turned to cuddle against Louis. The older boy wrapped an arm around Liam’s shoulders.

Two miles later and Louis could tell from the younger boy’s breathing that he was asleep.

_It must be the pregnancy_ , Louis thought, _He isn’t normally this tired._

Louis pondered turning to take Liam home for a moment, but then his mind came up with a rather flawless theory- it would be better to bring Liam back to the older boy’s flat for an hour or two and let him sleep. After all, wouldn’t it be strange if Liam, who as far as Karen Payne knew had gotten a complete night of sleep before, came stumbling in exhausted at only five thirty in the afternoon? The sun wasn’t even completely set- it would arouse her suspicion.

Louis nearly laughed, he knew it was nothing more than a pathetic excuse to spend a few more hours with Liam, but to be quite honest Louis would take anything he could get- pathetic or not.

He continued, then, to his flat that was situated a mere ten minutes from Zayn’s and found a place to park in the lot to the side of it, then glanced down at Liam- who was still sound asleep on his shoulder. He bit his lip and thought for a moment on how he should go about waking the boy; until he concluded that he wouldn’t wake him at all. He smiled gently and carefully moved Liam so that he wouldn’t be disturbed by Louis leaving the van. Once free, Louis turned around and carefully pulled Liam into his arms, amazed for a moment at how light he was. He had yet to gain much, if any, baby weight, though Louis could tell from the relative ease in which he lifted the boy that Liam had started to lose small amounts of muscle mass- around his abdomen, if Louis should guess.

He held Liam with one arm behind his shoulders and one beneath his kneecaps, with Liam’s head resting against Louis’ chest. The older boy shouldered the door closed and walked in the complex.

When he reached his flat, he carried Liam into the bedroom and placed him carefully on the bed, pulling the covers over him. He crawled in beside him and wrapped his arms around Liam in a lover’s embrace, which, even while asleep, Liam responded to by putting his own arms around Louis and nuzzling into his warmth.

“Lou?” came Liam’s soft voice a moment later.

“You’re awake?” Louis asked, moving his head to look at Liam. Liam nodded.

“A little… where are we?”

“My flat,” Louis murmured, relaxing once more and pulling Liam closer. “Thought you might want to rest before entering the dragon’s den.”

Liam smiled into Louis’ chest and sighed contentedly. He felt warm and happy and, above all, safe in Louis’ arms. He fell into a quiet sleep, and moments later, so did Louis.

 

*          *          *

 

Liam opened his eyes and took in a deep breath. He was confused for a moment at the feeling of a warm body pressed next to his own, but relaxed as his memory returned to him and he recognized the feeling of Louis’ embrace. He smiled as he allowed his eyes to trail over Louis’ peaceful face.

Suddenly, though, a brightness over Louis’ shoulder caught his eye and he sat up to get a better look- only to find the digital clock beside Louis bed beaming the time 2:45 A.M.

Liam’s eyes widened and he turned to wake Louis.

“Louis, Louis wake up,” he called, his voice an urgent whisper. “Lou, come on, please, please wake up!”

Louis made an odd humming noise in his sleep and shifted, his eyes nearly fluttering open.

“Louis, wake up!” Liam whisper-shouted again. He felt desperate, and placed a firm hand against Louis’ shoulder.

The older boy opened his eyes fully, now, and looked up at Liam for a moment. He took in the boy’s worried face, the almost-panic in his eyes, and his own widened. He shot into a sitting position quickly, taking hold of Liam’s arms.

“Liam, what’s wrong? Is it the baby? Oh god, should we go to the hospital?!”

Liam shook his head, trying to calm himself now for Louis’ sake. “No, no! The baby’s fine, they’re okay.” He moved closer to Louis, helped by the older boy quickly pulling him into his arms.

Liam slid his arms around Louis’ shoulders and nuzzled gently into his neck. He felt a warm hand press against his stomach, . “I’m sorry, Lou, I didn’t mean to scare you… I didn’t think about what it would look like, when I woke you up like that… I’m sorry…”

Louis took a steadying breath and closed his eyes for a moment. “It’s okay, Liam, I just thought… you looked so worried and I couldn’t help but think the worst… it’s okay, though, it’s alright.” He pulled back to look into Liam’s eyes, and gave an unsteady smile. “Just don’t scare me like that again, please?”

Liam returned the smile and nodded, then bit his lip. “There is a problem, though.”

“What is it?” Louis gently, tilting his head and furrowing his brow. Liam nodded towards the clock.

“The time.”

Louis looked back over his shoulder and gave a grunt of acknowledgement. “Yeah, that is a bit of a problem, isn’t it?” He turned to Liam and frowned.

“I’m sorry, Li, I shouldn’t have fallen asleep, I-“

But Liam cut him off by pressing his lips firmly against the older boys. The kiss was only meant to last a few moments, but drew longer as Liam tightened his arms around Louis’ shoulder. Liam felt the hand that had been pressed to his stomach move now to cup the side of his face, tangling gently in what had that morning been nicely straightened hair*.

Liam pulled from the kiss slightly dazed, and shook his head. “Not your fault,” he stated softly. Louis smiled reluctantly.

“Alright, alright. But, as much as I enjoyed that kiss and would like nothing more than to sit here and recreating it all night long, I think it would be best if I took you home.”

Liam winced. “Think there’s a chance my mother decided not to wait up for me?”

Louis gave him a sympathetic smile. “My love,” he began as he moved to stand up from the bed, “Asking for a chance that you won’t get busted by Karen Payne is precisely the same as asking for the highest order of miracles.” Liam groaned and stood, as well.

Louis met him by the door as they made to leave the room and stopped him by wrapping his arms around Liam’s waist from behind. He positioned them in a way so that one hand rested on Liam’s stomach. “Then again,” he whispered softly in Liam’s ear, “It’s not like a wonderfully beautiful miracle hasn’t happened to us before.”

Liam smiled brightly and leaned back for a moment into Louis’ embrace. He noticed that he was completely in love with the way Louis’ hand felt when it was pressed against his stomach, and how flushed with happiness and warmth it made him feel when Louis used the word “miracle”.

When Louis released his hold on Liam, and the younger boy gained enough sense in his mind to move, they hurried to the parking lot and into Louis’ van.

They were mostly silent on the ride to Liam’s house. The nearer they drew, the more nervous Liam felt- a kind of nervous that had his stomach twisting in knots and his head feeling light enough to float away. He was almost excited at the prospect of having to sneak back into his room without being caught, it was a challenge. One he’d faced before, but this time the stakes were higher- he’d never had the gall (or the accidental carelessness) to stay out all the way past two. He’d barely reached midnight before.

As usual, Louis stopped a short ways away from the house, just in care the ever-vigilant Karen was still awake and watching out of the window. He and Liam quickly exited the van and came to the house from the side- again to minimize being spotted.

It was all very cliché that a tree happened to planted just close enough to the window of Liam’s second-story bedroom for him to use it as a perfect escape and reentry route for late night wanderings (read: random and spontaneous nights with Louis, and the occasional times in the past when Niall had come after making his own escape, in desperate need of a friend to remind him of the world’s more pleasant attributes). But nonetheless, there it stood. Liam approached it, then turned to face Louis.

“Guess this is goodnight,” he whispered. Louis smiled sadly and nodded.

“Guess so. I’ll call you in the morning- well, later in the morning, I mean. We could go out again… if you want to, I mean…”

Liam grinned and hugged Louis tightly. “I always want to be with you, Louis, you know that,” he stated. His smile faded a bit as he continued, “But whether or not I can go… that’s up to my mum. And I don’t have to tell you how difficult it is to get two days in a row free from her.”

Louis nodded and pulled out of the hug enough to see Liam’s face. He smiled for a moment before catching Liam’s lips in a tender kiss, rubbing gently circles in the younger boy’s back.

Liam smiled in to the kiss and continued to do so even as it was broken. “Goodnight, Lou,” he murmured as he backed out of Louis’ hold.

“Goodnight, Liam,” Louis replied. Before Liam could fully pull away, while the older boy still had a loose grip on his hands, Louis dropped into a crouch. He brought one hand from Liam’s and pressed firmly against the boy’s stomach; he smiled as, even through the fabric of Liam’s shirt, he could feel how soft the skin had become, and that even though there was no bump yet, it was evidence of the baby beginning to show. “Goodnight to you, too, little one,” he whispered softly.

Liam smiled even brighter now, and tears clouded his gaze momentarily. Louis stood and kissed him lightly. “Go on,” he urged gently, “I’ll stay here until you’re in your room.”

Liam nodded and turned to the tree, quickly clambering up the low-hanging branches and towards the mid-section, where a few of the limbs reached out near to his bedroom window. He felt the thinner branches shift and sway slightly beneath him as he neared the window- this was normal, they moved no more than they had in the past. But Liam couldn’t help but wonder what would happen if he had to use this route in the future; it would more than likely be less than a month before he would begin to truly gain weight. By then though, Liam knew deep down, he most likely would not need his bark covered escape- because he most likely would not still be residing within the house.

He quietly pulled open the window, which remained unlocked for this very reason, and climbed through into his room. He took a moment to glance around, then turned and leaned out to look down at Louis.

They smiled at one another for a moment, reveling in what appeared to be another victory, then Louis raised his hand in departure.

“Goodbye, Liam,” he called in a whisper-shout. “I love you.”

Liam smiled and pressed his shoulder against the side of the windowsill, his arms crossed and placed on the bottom ledge. “I love you two, Louis,” he called down. Louis gave him another smile, then began to walk away.

After a few meters, though, he turned back and dared the shout, “Tell the baby I love them too!”

Liam giggled and nodded. “Okay,” he replied, not quite as loudly as Louis had. “Goodbye Lou!”

Louis’ smile turned to a broad grin and he continued to throw glances back at Liam until he was out of sight. In the distance, Liam could hear the sound of a engine starting up.

He let out a sigh of the content, happy for the moment to just enjoy the night breeze against his face- but his peace was broken by the sound of the door behind him being violently forced open and following loud screech.

“ _Liam James Payne!_ ”

Liam whirled around to be faced with his mother- who looked angrier than he’d seen in… than he’d _ever_ seen her.

“Mum! How long where you standing there?!”

“Long enough,” she stated, her teeth clenched as she marched across the room to the window. Liam shied away as she neared and took several steps back when she slammed the window shut.

“Mum, please just listen, I can explain,” he stated, terrified now that of what she’d heard. In Liam’s mind, Louis careful shout about telling the baby he loved them seemed more like a long-range scream.

_She knows, she knows, oh she knows about the baby… I’m dead, I’m actually going to die, she’s going to kill me!_

Karen’s eyes were raging, but she did not approach the boy who was now nearly hyperventilating in front of her. “So, thought you could lie to me? Thought I wouldn’t catch on?”

Liam began to shiver. “Mum, I didn’t lie, I was going to tell you-“

“Omission of the truth is precisely the same as lying! And you were, were you? When exactly was that going to happen?”

Liam wondered if it was healthy that he wasn’t really breathing at the moment.

“ _I asked you a question, Liam._ ”

“I-I d-don’t know,” Liam choked. He wished he could shout loud enough for Louis to hear, he desperately wanted the older boy by his side.

Karen’s lips thinned. “You _told me_ this morning it was only going to be Harry, and yet I find you sneaking back into the house at some awful hour in the morning with-with-with _that_ _damned_ _Tomlinson boy_ , of all people! The fact that you choose to have such an _unnatural excuse_ for a relationship is horrible and embarrassing enough, but to have the gall to test the limits of my patience with _that boy_? And to think I’m so dim as to not even _notice_? All I ask is that you keep this utter _embarrassment_ to our family’s name a secret, but here you are running around doing who knows what, who knows where with this _rat_! Broadcasting to the world, telling them that the Payne family has no values! No discipline! That we don’t try to instill some form of _decency_ into out children! Well, I never!”

Liam still shivered, but he dared now to glance up from where he had his head lowered submissively. Even through the ache torn his chest from his mother’s words, he felt some relief that he did not hear included in them anything having to do with a baby, or a pregnancy. Yes, she had alluded to sex, but she had not spoken of Liam coming away from it with anything other than a loss of virginity.

“I-I’m sorry,” he murmured. Karen’s jaw was set.

“Sorry doesn’t fix this family’s reputation, Liam. Sorry doesn’t undo the embarrassment you’ve brought onto yourself and onto me. Sorry simply is not enough.”

Liam turned away, trying to hide the fact that tears now threatened to spill. It wasn’t like him to cry- he always became angry when his mother drilled him this way, or simply blocked her out. Perhaps though it was a combination of the words Karen had chosen to used and his currently completely out of the balance hormones that had him feeling so emotional.

Karen sighed briskly and shook her head. “One day, you’ll grow out of this silly notion. You’ll realize this is a mistake, and you regret wasting so much time on this. One day perhaps you’ll have a bit more respect for decent human society, and stop acting like a heathen,” she stated evenly. “As for now, though, give me your phone- I don’t want you calling any of those wretched… _friends_ for a while. Maybe then their influence will begin to wear off.”

Liam reluctantly handed over his phone. Once it was confiscated, Karen left with a command of “Bed. Now.”

Liam waited for the door to be shut, then stiffly pulled off his trousers to replace them with joggers. He crawled into his bed, not tired but entirely to upset to want to stay awake.

He cried that night, for at least an hour before sleep overcame him. He cried because he felt alone, he cried because he wished his mother could just look past her own wants and needs and see that every word she spoke was another knife in her son’s heart.

He curled with his arm wrapped tightly around his abdomen, as he had the night before. He cried silently, now, and occasionally a shudder would ripple down his spine. He felt alone and scared as he had days before, upon first learning of the baby that grew inside of him. If his mother reacted that badly to just a temporary reminder of her son’s relationship with Louis, then there was no hope for when Liam finally had the courage to tell her, or would run out of time to hide the fact, that he was pregnant. That he and Louis were truly lovers, in every sense of the word, and that growing inside of Liam’s body was a tiny baby- living proof of their love for one another.

Liam did not dream that night. His mind was not in a place for happy dreams in the moment that he fell asleep, and it could come up with no nightmares that felt worse than Liam’s reality.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *keep in mind, this is fluffy little puppy-dog, Disney prince look-alike seventeen-to-eighteen year old Liam we're talking about here. As in 2010 X-Factor Liam. Not the incredible piece of Greek god he is currently.


	7. Chapter 7

The next morning, Liam once again was rudely awoken by the feeling of bile rising in the back of his throat. He was tired of morning sickness, he was tired of everything;  already, the excitement he’d felt the day before was gone. It took only one night spent near his mother and away from Louis to wear him down to the place he’d been at days before.

He was getting a bit tired of that, too, though.

He stayed in his room that Sunday, and his mother was content to leave him alone. He went downstairs to eat, walked quietly down the hall to use the bathroom (or attempted a not-so-silent jog when the food he’d eaten inevitably decided to come back up), but otherwise stayed hidden away in his bedroom. He studied a bit, did his homework and all the class work he’d missed from being sick, but mostly he would stare longingly out the window. If he was only a bit braver, he would have gone out the window and walked to Louis’ flat. It was in the city, but still not so very far from Liam’s home; he could manage walk.

But Liam was not brave enough or secure enough in his ability to take care of himself and his unborn child should something go wrong. Should he come home to find his mother waiting for him, to find his duffel packed by her feet, and to hear the disowning words ‘Get out of my house’ come from her lips.

 _I’ll hear that anyway… sneaking out would just end the suffering so much sooner…_ But he couldn’t bare the anxiety that flooded his mind every time he moved to push open the window.

Monday started a bit better- he woke nauseated and with a pounding headache but otherwise perfectly fine that morning. He had set him alarm so that he would wake up early enough to get a shower in the morning. He’d had the time the day before, of course, but time is nothing if you don’t have the heart to do anything. He did have heart that morning though, almost enough to smile in fact, because he had a plan. Something he didn’t think his mother had thought of. Both Niall and Harry (though, in all honestly, Karen liked Harry. Liam wasn’t sure why.) still attended secondary school; Liam could use one of their phones to talk to Louis. Even as he pulled the straightener painfully through his hair, which, due to impatience with the hair dryer, was still a bit damp, he couldn’t help but smirk. Could he outsmart Karen Payne? Probably not for very long; but dammit, he would give it a good go.

The walk to the bus stop was longer than Liam remembered, as was the ride to school. Upon arrival, he nearly sprinted to get to his locker- where he knew Niall would be. ’Nearly sprinted’ is entirely accurate as, when he tried to actually run, his head seemed to started spinning and his stomach felt like it was twisting into a thousand knots.

Finally, in what was actually only a minute but felt like hours, Liam arrived at his locker. As he’d assumed, Niall stood with his back to the wall a little ways down, facing the students coming from the opposite end of the hall.

“Liam, aye mate, what was up yesterday? Louis called me asking if I knew where you were, and I when I called to ask you, no answer. Tomlinson got Zayn and Harry on it too, had us all worked up. Nearly drove to your place, but Zayn talk some sense into his head. What happened?”

“My mother happened,” Liam muttered absently, removing the books from his bag that he wouldn’t need until later and stuffing them into his lock. Now that he was there, he didn’t feel so rushed; it would take a bit of explaining anyway, and so long as the option to call Louis was so nearby, Liam didn’t feel the need to struggle so hard for it. He would take his time.

“She didn’t find out about the...,” Niall began, pausing to look around for people within earshot. When he continued, it was in a hushed whisper, “about the _baby_ , did she?”

Liam shook his head and closed his locker. He leaned with his shoulder against the cool metal, so that he was facing Niall. “But she was a bit pissed when she caught me sneaking in at, what was it… past three the in morning?”

“Three? What the hell did you and Louis do that you didn’t back him until _three_?” Niall questioned, raising his eyebrows suggestively. “I don’t think twin-making works like that, Liam.”

Liam blushed and set his jaw. “Mind out of the gutter, would you? That’s disgusting.”

“Liam, you’re sort of knocked up. I know you and Louis have done that _at least_ once.”

“Grief, Niall, say it louder, yeah? I don’t think the first years downstairs heard you!” Liam scolded, narrowing his eyes. It was jokes and teasing to Niall, and it should have been to Liam as well; but he was finding Niall’s sense of humor strangely irritating in that moment.

“Calm down, calm down. No one is paying attention, see, watch; Oi! You lot walking around the halls all zombie-like! I’m a flaming homosexual that gets it from behind! I bottom and I like it that way!”

At this point, Liam’s face was blotched red and he was banging his head against lockers, desperately wishing to be anywhere but there.

Niall chuckled. “See there, nothing. Well…,” he trailed, raising an eyebrow at someone behind and off to the side of Liam. “Except that really weird kid that’s always horny. Actually he’s sort of freaking me out. Hey, bud, listen, I didn’t mean to turn you on with that…,” Niall began as he walked toward the boy in question, who was currently licking his lips and trying to hide a rather obvious problem he was having in a rather obvious place. Liam groaned and walked off; so much for his plan. Perhaps he could outsmart Karen, but catching Niall at a good time to talk seriously for even a moment was almost impossible. He would just have to suffer through the day and hope to catch Harry later on.

The clocks in each classroom could not have gone any slower. At one point Liam swore they were all broken; but finally, lunch came around and he caught sight of curly hair above the milling crowd of students.

He caught up quickly. “Harry, hey, how’ve you been?”

Harry smiled at him. “Well I’ve been alright, but then I didn’t drop of the face of the Earth for twenty-four hours. What was that about?”

“Trouble with my mum. I’ll explain when we get into the cafeteria.”

Harry nodded, amiable as he was, and they continued through the school.

When they were both situated, and after Niall had come bounding over to join them (“Sorry about this morning, Liam, but did you notice the rise that guy got? If I’d known I could do that _years ago_ , well…”) Liam set about explaining why he’d been unreachable the day before.

“You fell asleep?” Niall asked, now at least ten minutes after Liam thought they’d moved on from that point.

“Yes.”

“That’s it? Just… fell asleep?”

“What did you think happened?”

“You know what I thought happened.”

“You are a literal pig.”

“Not true, I just have a healthy curiosity.”

“You have a disgusting curiosity.”

“Aye!” Harry shouted, gaining Niall’s and Liam’s attention. “Stop your squabbling, if Liam says that’s all that happened, then that’s all that happened, yeah? And really Liam, you’ve known Niall longer than anyone- don’t you know by now he can’t help it?”

The other two blew roughly through their noses, but otherwise said nothing.

“So, hey, we should probably tell Louis that you’re okay, Li. And also that you aren’t completely pissed at him,” Harry continued. Liam perked up.

“Oh right, yeah, that’s actually what I’ve been wanting to ask one of you all day. My mum took my phone, you see, and I was wondering if I could maybe borrow one of yours to call Louis and tell him what’s going on.”

“Mine’s dead, mate, sorry. The fucker can’t hold a charge anymore,” Niall stated, looking genuinely upset he couldn’t be of any help.

“It’s because you never took off the charger when you got it,” Harry stated. “You’ve got to take it off when it’s done. Here, Liam,” he said, turning to dig through his bag, “use mine.”

Liam took the phone Harry held out to him and smiled gratefully. “Thanks Harry, really, you’re great.”

Harry waved him off and turned back to his lunch.

Liam dialed Louis’ number quickly (to be honest, it was the only number he still had memorized; he couldn’t even recite his own number confidently without glancing at his phone first) and put it to his ear- discreetly of course, they were still in school and phones were no more welcome at lunch than in the classrooms.

It took a while, but finally Louis answer. “Harry why are you on your phone in the middle of the day, you bad, bad child?” he teased. Liam grinned.

“Harry’s not on phone in the  middle of the day,” Liam replied. “And if I remember correctly you’re suppose to be in Advanced English, aren’t you?”

“ _Liam!_ ”

Liam wondered if the sound had been loud enough to rupture his eardrum. It felt like it had.

“What happened yesterday? I mean I get it, like, maybe you didn’t want to hang out, but when you wouldn’t answer _anybody_ …” Louis trailed. Liam could hear relief tinging his voice.

“I did, Lou, I really did want to see you. But I couldn’t; right after you left the night before, my mum came into my room. She’s heard me sneak in I suppose. She took my phone, so that’s why I couldn’t answer it. I’m sorry Louis, I really don’t mean to worry you so much but lately it feels like I’ve gotten quite good at it…”

He heard a sigh on the other end, but it didn’t sound like a bad one. “You have, but you’re pregnant, and I’m your boyfriend so it’s kind of my job to worry. Aye, what are you looking at, you tosser?” Louis stated, though Liam was fairly certain the last bit wasn’t directed at him.

“Uh, Louis?”

“Sorry, babe, hold on-“ Louis continued. When he spoke again, his voice was farther away and he was once more talking to whom ever was daft enough to have pissed him off. A moment later, he was back with, “Sorry about that Liam, one of the massive jerk-offs here on campus walked by. He likes talking trash about, well.. anything that isn’t either a carbon-copy of him, or a size zero with their chest in another county.”

Liam snorted. “Nice, Lou, they must really love you over there.”

“Oh yeah, totally. I’m most definitely the top dog. Of the most hated. For sure.”

Liam smiled, then heard a beep over the phone. He pulled it away for a moment to see that the screen had a ten percent warning. “Louis,” he began, returning the phone to his ear, “I’ve got to go, okay? Harry’s phone is about to go dead. I’ll talk to you as soon as I can, alright?”

“Alright, babe. I love you.”

“I love you too, Louis,” Liam replied. He waited a moment, to make sure Louis wasn’t going to say anything else, before hanging up the phone and passing it to Harry.

“Nearly dead? That’s so weird, I swear it was at like fifty percent…”

Niall smirked triumphantly as he took a swallow of his soda. “So you were saying about I how I don’t charge my phone properly?”

The rest of the day might never have happened, as far as Liam was concerned. He didn’t pay attention to any of his classes, and he didn’t see Niall or Harry enough to make the time wasted worth while. He knew home wouldn’t be so much fun either, but at least there he had the time to think about things that were a bit more important than cubic functions.

“Liam, mate, let me give a you ride home, yeah? I’m taking Harry to his house anyway,” Niall said when they were finally given leave.

“Sure, man, thanks,” Liam replied gratefully- the bus was fine in the mornings when everyone was still half asleep or trying to finish up last minute homework, but in the afternoons it turned into a rolling box of hormones and pent up energy.

Liam took the passenger seat of the truck, while Harry slid into the back of the half-cab.

“And you guys said I shouldn’t have gotten a four-seat,” Niall mused as he turn the key.

“Whatever I said back then, I take it back and replace it with: You should have gotten a full-cab. I don’t think I can feel my legs anymore,” Harry grumbled.

“I would pull the seat up, Harry, but it’s up as far as it will go,” Liam stated as they pulled away from the parking lot.

“Nevermind, I’ve gotten it,” Harry said cheerfully. Liam glanced back and took note of how Harry had pulled his legs up to stretch them out across the backseat.

“Are you even wearing a seatbelt?” Niall asked, daring a glance into the back from the mirror.

“No.”

“Please try to Harry, really, I mean you do know that I’m kind of responsible for whatever happens to you while I drive, yeah? Also I’d rather you not die if we crash.”

“Grief Ni, you sound like my mother. Didn’t see that one coming,” Harry mumbled, attempting to twist his upper body in a way to allow for the seatbelt. Liam himself was a bit shocked; Niall caring about safety? Niall acting like an adult?

It was a reminder that, technically, Niall _was_ an adult. He was seventeen, like Liam, but had applied for emancipation at the age of fifteen. Now two years later, he had his own flat and his own job, he had a truck- he had more than most others his age, and he had it all because of his own two hands and drive for working hard. Like Liam, Niall’s mother was the unbearable type of person who pushed the people around to the edge- except Niall’s father of course, but he would just bow in submission to her every command. She was perhaps worse than Karen, though- where Karen was usually passive in her disappointment, Maura was always straight-forward and very aggressive. Niall wasn’t good enough for her, and she made sure he knew it without any room for misinterpretation. So he’d left.

The incident wasn’t spoken of further, and their attentions turned instead, and to the great irritation of the subject, to Liam’s situation.

“Do you know when you’re going to tell your mum?” Harry asked carefully. Niall glanced every now and away from the road to look at Liam. He knew what would happen when Liam did- unlike the other boys in their little group, Niall wasn’t naïve. Liam liked that about him; he didn’t say ‘everything’s going to work out, your mum will be fine in the end’ if he didn’t believe it, and he didn’t.

“No, but I figure I’ll wait until it starts to show, yeah? I mean, she can’t possible figure it out until then.”

“Even then maybe you could just tell her it’s a little extra weight,” Harry mused. “I heard of this girl who got pregnant, and hid it from her parents the entire nine months by wearing really big clothes and not letting them see her middle so much. They found out when she went into labor, you know, but not until then.”

Niall snorted. “She was either kind of a big person already, or her parents were the most unobservant in the world. That’ll never work with Karen.”

“Mrs. Payne,” Harry corrected. He was nothing if not polite to his elders.

“Oi, after all the things that bitch has called me over the years, ‘Karen’ is the best thing I could say.”

Harry’s eyes widened that Niall had called her a bitch in front of Liam, and they widened even more when Liam’s reaction was to laugh loudly.

Liam caught sight of Harry’s face- the shock he must have felt was a testament to the fact that he’d never felt the sting of hatred that both Niall and Liam knew dearly. “It’s fine, Haz, Niall calls her that all the time.”

Harry must have thought Liam meant that Niall called her Karen, because he relaxed. Niall and Liam mutually decided it was best not to correct the boy’s thinking.

“So after the inevitable volcanic eruption from your mother, Liam, what are you going to do?”

“I… I don’t know, to be honest. Maybe live with Louis, but I’m still not so sure he’d like that.”

“I think he’d love it, Li, I mean he worked himself into a panic when nobody could get a hold of you yesterday. That’s got to tell you something,” Harry stated.

Niall nodded. “Harry’s right, Liam, Louis cares about you and he damn sure cares about the baby. And if, worst case, he gets hit on the head or something and suddenly forgets who he is and turns into a complete asshole, then my home is always your home; you know that, right?”

Liam smiled  softly. “Yeah, thanks, Niall,” he replied, his voice betraying his emotions.

“Are you going to cry?” Harry asked curiously. Liam turned pointedly toward the window.

“I can’t help it I’m pregnant, leave me alone.” But he was still smiling.

Niall and Harry laughed, and Liam felt warmth spreading through his body- he was happy, and he felt much safer now than he had the day before. He had friends, really, really good friends; and he knew that so long as that fact was true, he wouldn’t have to worry.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the long wait... again. School ended a week ago and it was hard going at the tail of it, but after that I have no excuses. I'm back now, though, and ready to give this story my full attention.


	8. Chapter 8

The next two weeks followed much the same routine. Liam’s morning sickness wavered; some mornings it was a mere nauseous wave, while others mornings started extra early with the taste of rising bile. His headaches at least were consistent- he had one every evening.

The third symptom of the pregnancy hit him during this time: cravings. He’d been home wandering aimlessly around the house when it occurred to him how much he wanted a bowl of lime sherbet, which he couldn’t recall ever eating before. The feeling was impossible to ignore and the thought of it was enough to make his mouth water, but there was none in the house and he had no way to get to the store to buy it.

Finally, with the end of the second week, Liam arrive at the two and a half mark of his pregnancy- ten weeks, and time for the first ultrasound.

The morning before his appointment began early, he was already nervous and it didn’t help his nausea. He rushed back into his bedroom afterwards and rummaged around the room for clean clothes.

“This is filthy, why do I never clean this mess?” he grumbled as he sifted through a pile of dirty shirts and trousers. The mess had never bothered him before, but now he found it intensely irritating.

Finally he found a clean pair of trousers and a clean shirt that didn’t have holes or bleach stains (he was getting down to the dregs of his shirts, and perhaps it was time to actually wash them). He quickly slipped off the jogging bottoms he slept in and pulled on the jeans.

It took more time that he thought was normal to get them on, and a hell of a lot more jumping around and mumbling swears past the shirt clamped firmly between his teeth. Actually buttoning them was a nightmare; Liam was on his back on the bed before he could get them to close. He sat up, wincing in discomfort at how tight the jeans were, and walked stiffly to the mirror on the other side of the room. He lifted the old shirt he slept in and ran his hand gently over his stomach, and was surprised to feel a slight rise just above his hips. Liam’s eyes widened as his hand caressed the bump, and a faint smile touched his lips.

_Louis’ going to be excited when I tell I’m showing_ , Liam thought, pulling the shirt over his head and reaching for the one he’d chosen to wear that day.

It went on easily, but seem to cling to his lower belly and highlight the fact that his once-flat stomach wasn’t so flat anymore. Liam bit the inside of his mouth and tried to readjust his jeans, but it didn’t lessen the fact that his weight gain was far more noticeable than he was comfortable with. He searched the room until he came up with a hoodie- it wasn’t terribly cold outside, but since it was only mid-April he hoped no one would fault him for wearing it. He made his way quickly downstairs and grabbed his pack from beside the door.

He walked outside and smiled when he saw his mother’s car wasn’t in the drive. Lately, she’d taken to delaying her departure for work in favor of waiting for Liam to leave for school. Perhaps she thought Louis or one of Liam’s friends were coming to pick him up- as though Liam would be so stupid to let his mother know they were still in contact.

He met Niall by the lockers at the same time as usual, and was surprised to find Harry there as well. Liam and Niall had known each other longer than either had known Harry, and so they were naturally closer. Usually, early in the  morning, Harry wanted to prep more for school than socialize.

Liam transferred his books to his locker, glancing every now and then at Niall and Harry. They had been talking earlier, but seemed to fall quiet as Liam approached them.

Finally, Liam closed his locker door and faced the two completely. Harry was smiling, which wasn’t unusual, but Niall was properly smirking; which was _always_ a cause for concern.

“So… it’s, what, 21 degrees out? That’s like _really_ high for this month. And you’re wearing a jumper. Tell me, Liam, cold? Or hiding something?” Niall mused, tilting and giving Liam his very best innocent look.

“Cold, thank you very much, and it’s not like 21 is exactly hot, you know,” Liam defended, letting Niall hear the discontent of being interrogated in his voice.

Harry shrugged and replied, “Yeah, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen you wearing a jumper at that temperature.”

Liam shouldered his pack and stepped away from them. “I need to get to class,” he murmured. He didn’t know why he was so insecure- that morning, when he’d noticed the bump, he had been elated, and couldn’t wait to tell Louis. Now all he could think about was how tight his jeans felt and how much his shirt clung to him. He’d never been shy before, but suddenly the thought of spending the day surrounded by people who could _see_ him made him sick.

“Come on, Liam, we already know. It’s not that hard to figure out- we knew it the minute we saw you walking down the hall. You’re showing, aren’t you?” Niall questioned, his tone not quite so teasing as before. Niall pushed and pushed at nearly ever social barrier he could find, and tried his very best to break through any wall a person threw up in his path- but he knew when it was time to be gentler and to stop pushing. Because of that, Liam let out a breath and, staring at the floor, gave a small nod.

Niall truly smiled at this, and Harry’s face lit up. “Really? That’s amazing! Does Louis know yet? How big is it? Is it super noticeable? Wait, no has-” but whatever Harry’s next question might be, Niall didn’t allow him to finish it. He clapped a hand over Harry’s mouth and glared at him for a moment, Harry staring back sheepishly.

“Liam,” Niall stated, looking away towards Liam and keeping his hand over Harry’s mouth, “ignore this blockhead. There’s only one really important question: Are you going to _tell_ Louis, or just let him figure it out on his own?”

Liam couldn’t answer at first, he was still trying to process all the interrogations Harry had fired at him. When he found his voice, he said, “I’m not sure. I wanted to, _want_ to, but now… I’m not so sure. It was exciting when I was in my room alone, but here? With so many other people? What happens when I leave school and I’m out in the actual world? Like a store or something, and it’s not just a little bump I can hide with a hoodie anymore. I just… I’m not as sure I can do this as I was earlier this morning…”

“Li… it’ll be alright, you know? You’ll probably be so pumped with weird hormones that you won’t even give a shit about who’s around or how many people there are. Maybe this is like getting a filling at the dentist’s. You go all anxious, but then they strap on the Novocain mask and it’s like they could threaten to throw you from the top of the Eye of London, and you wouldn’t care at all. Maybe the hormones are like Novocain. Or maybe this analogy is pointless. A better thought is the fact that you’ll have Louis to look out for you- do you really think he’ll let anyone give you shit for being pregnant while he’s around?”

Liam shrugged, but he couldn’t stop the corners of his mouth from twitched up into a reluctant smile; so Niall knew his spiel had worked.

“Mmm-hmm, uh eh uhd,” Harry hummed, Niall’s hand still over his mouth.

Niall rolled his eyes and stared at Harry for a moment, who stared right back. Suddenly Niall’s smirk was back.

“You know, Styles, if you want me to move my hand you’ll have to do a hell of a lot more than just lick it. Trust me, Harry, that hand has been through worse things than your saliva.”

Harry’s eyes widened and he pulled away from Niall. He gagged and doubled over for a moment. Niall snickered.

Liam sighed lightly and rolled his eyes. His friends could get his mind off just about anything that trouble him, and they could do it without even trying.

Classes for the first half of that day went by slowly, and during lunch Liam didn’t speak much. He was hungry, more than he usually was, and her put that up to not eating breakfast that morning in his rush to see whether his mother was gone or not.

After lunch they had a free period- their next class would have been gym but seeing as the gym was being decorated for the first through third years upcoming dance, and the teacher was busying overseeing the process, they had a period to wander around certain areas of the campus and relax. Liam, Niall, and Harry chose to meet in an area of the training field that was hidden behind the athletic building. They were out of the line of sight there, and felt more at ease knowing they were truly alone.

“So Niall...,” Harry ventured as he wandered around the small area of shade, his hands in his pockets. Niall and Liam stood leaned against the gym wall. “Remember that guy you accidently turned on a few weeks ago?”

Niall grunted his acknowledgement, eying Harry curiously.

“Did you, ah… follow through, with that?”

“No. Why do you care?” Niall asked, his voice unsure. Liam lifted his brow and looked away- Niall’s tone suggested his mood could shift in any direction. If Harry was smart, and knew anything about Niall, he would make a tactful move away from that particular conversation.

But Harry had never been a tactful sort of person.

“I don’t. Just curious, you know?” Harry was grinning, he thought the conversation was funny. “I mean… you always talk about _it_ , don’t you? And you flirt with _everyone_.”

Liam would have given Harry his entire life’s savings to have not said those words. But now that the damage was done, he couldn’t seem to bring himself to _not_ watch the outcome.

Niall’s eyes hardened. He wasn’t glaring; the shift in mood wasn’t obvious, but years of learning to read Niall like a book allowed Liam to see that his mood was souring quickly.

“I’m not a fucking whore, Styles. I don’t give it up to every guy I see- fuck, man, so I flirt. Big deal. Why don’t you fuck off and stop it with the third degree? You don’t need to know _everything_ about _everyone’s_ lives.” With that, Niall stood straight and walked calmly, albeit stiffly, towards the school.

Harry watched him go hopelessly and Liam, too, stopped leaning on the wall to watch Niall walk away. He knew better than to chase after him- Niall wasn’t going to listen to anyone at that moment. Harry, however, had yet to learn this lesson in the art of understanding the less-that-predictable Irishman.

Liam sighed as Harry sprinted after his retreating friend, calling his name and shouting an apology. Liam was in the midst of deciding whether or not to follow when he heard the sound of footsteps behind him. His eyes widened and his pulse quickened; a month ago he could have taken nearly anyone who could have tried to hurt him. But now, after loosing so much muscle from his pregnancy?

“Trouble in paradise?”

As soon as Liam heard the voice, he felt a deep calm settle over him. He turned quickly and saw Louis, the sneaky bastard, standing behind him, smiling brightly.

“Louis? Where did you come from, what are you… _how did you get here?_ ” Liam questioned as he stepped towards the boy. Louis closed the gap between them easily and wrapped his arms around Liam, who tried to settle into the embrace without his stomach pressing against Louis. He wanted Louis to know, but he wanted to tell him on his own terms.

Liam shifted so he could see Louis’ face but still remain in his arms. He had his own folded so that his hands lay over Louis’ collar.

“Come on Li, Zayn and I taught you three about this place. Away from teachers, away from cleaning staff, and no security cameras. You can sneak on and off campus easy over here, you know that,” Louis stated, cupping Liam’s jaw and stroking Liam’s cheek with his thumb. He was smiling gently, and it faded temporarily as he added, “Come to think of it, too easily. It’s not really safe back here, maybe you shouldn’t hang around here anymore… wow, the teachers were right., I _was_ irresponsible…”

Liam rolled his eyes as Louis soft smile returned. “I missed you, you know,” he murmured. Louis kissed his forehead gently.

“I’ve missed you, too. Talking on the phone just isn’t the same as face-to-face, is it?”

Liam shook his head. “No, it’s not… we should try to change that.”

Louis smirked. “Wait a minute, are you suggesting we go _against_ your mother? _Disobedience?_ Liam, I’m shocked,” he muttered, drawing closer to Liam’s face. “And… a little turned on, to be honest…”

Liam smiled and closed the distance between their lips, bring his hands past Louis’ shoulders to thread them through his hair. Louis tightened his arms around Liam’s waist and smiled into their kiss. After a moment longer, Liam broke contact and let his hands fall to the back of Louis’ neck.

“Louis,” he murmured softly, drawing one hand away and using it to take a hold of one of Louis’. Liam took a very small step back, just enough so there was space between them.

“Babe?” Louis asked, equally softly. His free hand held a gentle pressure in the small of Liam’s back. He was starting to look worried.

Liam smiled nervously. “There’s something I want you to see… or.. _feel_ , I guess…” He used his thumb to move his hoodie and shirt out of the way enough to guide Louis’ hand to his lower stomach. There, he pressed Louis’ hand gently against his skin, over the small bump he had noticed that morning. He kept his head down but let his eyes travel to Louis’ face, the better to gage his reaction.

Louis’ eyes lit up, and he removed his other hand from Liam’s back to press against the tiny bulge. His lips parted and he focused entirely on the younger boy’s stomach. Liam smiled softly and covered Louis’ hands with his own.

Louis looked into Liam’s eyes, and his face split into an ecstatic grin. “You’re _showing_ ,” he breathed, moving suddenly to embrace Liam tightly. Liam wrapped his own arms around Louis’ neck and nuzzled into the space just below his jaw. They stood pressed against each other for a moment, then Louis pulled back and took Liam by the wrists. He lead him gently to the gym wall where they bot sat down, or rather, Louis sat down and then pulled Liam into his lap. The younger boy settled against Louis, his had resting on Louis’ collar.

“We have about twenty minutes,” Liam stated softly, feeling as though anything louder would break the peaceful silence that had settled between. “Then I have to go back to class.”

Louis nodded gently. He hummed lightly in his chest. “Liam, remember the deal we made?”

“What deal?”

“The one where I’m allowed to go completely overbearing-boyfriend on you when you start showing. Remember?”

Liam groaned. “I’m _barely_ showing, though,” he argued weakly, a soft smile pulling at his lips.

Louis hummed again and Liam felt him shake his head. “Nope, sorry, that wasn’t the deal,” he teased lightly, wrapping his arms more securely around Liam.

Liam laughed softly and pressed a kiss into Louis’ neck, still smiling.

“Liam?” Louis asked after a moment of silence.

“Yeah?”

“Are you nervous about tomorrow?”

Liam remained quiet for a time. He was nervous, but he couldn’t tell yet what made him that way. “I’m not really sure,” he admitted. Louis nodded

“I’m sort of excited,” Louis said, one hand stroking gently Liam’s arm. “I mean… we’re going to see our _baby_ tomorrow, Li… like really _see_ them…”

Liam smiled brightly and nodded, feeling the same since of safety and warmth and happiness Louis had always been so good at making him feel. It was starting to sink in, at that moment, that this was the beginning of his life. That moment was where everything would begin- his family, his future, his everything. It was scary to think of the struggle ahead of him where his mother was concerned, but so much when he thought about what would come after. Life. Family. Love. Liam was leaving the hormone-charged world of adolescence and stepping into a secret realm that most adults would search their entire lives for.

He cuddled into Louis, then, and splayed a hand over the opposite side of his collar. If this was truly the start of his life, if it indicated anything of how it would be in the future, than he couldn’t wait to get started.


	9. Chapter 9

Liam watched the clock nervously, one hand tapping ceaselessly on his desk and the other held gently against his stomach. He swore he could here the tick of the second-hand, despite the droning voice of the teacher at the front of the room.

From the right Liam felt a small tap on his shoulder. He turned his head to the side enough to find Niall watching him worriedly. Liam gave his best nod, but he felt sick- and he wasn’t sure exactly why he was so anxious.

Maybe it was the ultrasound, or maybe it was the fact that what he was about to do could rip through whatever wool he’d managed to pull over his mother’s eyes. He’d lied the afternoon before, told her that there was a event for school the next day and that he would be home late. Maybe late enough that she would be home before it was over- Liam decided to be vague enough to give himself and Louis time together if they wanted it.

But if she found out? If the doctors decided to tell her? It was over, all of it. If Liam hadn’t been worried about the health of the baby he might have just refused the ultrasound all together, but how could he be confident that the child was safe? The situation was all so strange and he was scared to think of how that was affecting his baby.

Finally, while Liam was still thoroughly engrossed in his anxious musings, the bell rang and signaled the release of the students. Niall stood and gathered his things, looking up to see if Liam had followed. When Liam made no move to get up, Niall sighed and gently shook the boy’s shoulder.

“Liam?” he called. The boy glanced up and blinked, then let out a breath and nodded. He stood and slid his binder, which had remained closed throughout the class period, into his bag.

They walked silently through the hall to their lockers to grab a few books for homework or study, then went downstairs to leave the school. Liam stopped outside the door to lean against the wall, letting his bag drop to the ground beside him. Niall stopped, too, and watched him for a moment before speaking.

“I’ll stay here until Louis comes, alright?” he asked, Liam nodded and gave him a grateful smile. Niall waited another moment before asking, “What’s bothering you?”

Liam bit his lip. “I don’t know,” he stated. “The fact my mum could find out about all this I think?”

“About you lying to her? Li, you’ve been caught doing worse. I doubt anything she could dish out punishment-wise would be anything you haven’t felt before.”

Liam shook his head. “No, not just the lying… the baby. What if a doctor tells her? I’m a minor, remember, and she’s my emergency contact. What if they tell her?”

Niall shook his head. “I think there’s some kind of doctor-patient confidentiality thing. Like as long as it’s not life-threatening. Besides, I thought Louis was handling that, being the only legal adult here?”

Liam shrugged. “I guess he is, but I can’t stop thinking about what could happen, you know? So much could go wrong.”

Niall nodded and leaned against the wall beside his friend. “I know,” he breathed, then fell quiet.

The door opened beside them and a tall figure stepped out, far enough in Liam’s peripheral that he couldn’t tell who it was.

“So this is where you two got off to,” a slow bass mused. Liam looked up and nodded the boy over- it was Harry.

Niall stiffened beside Liam, and lifted his head to stare forward pointedly. Liam hadn’t seen him talk to Harry since the incident the day before, no matter how many times Harry tried to apologize for whatever he did to make the Irishman angry.

Harry walked at a slow pace to the wall Liam and Niall leaned against, and seemed almost reluctant to join them. Like he felt that he wasn’t really wanted there. Liam made it point to smile at the boy- the mess wasn’t Harry’s fault. Niall was a time-bomb and you could never tell when he was going to go off or on whom he would explode. Harry hadn’t been very tactful in his conversation, but it hadn’t warranted Niall’s reaction.

Encouraged, Harry returned the smile and stood beside Liam.

Five minutes later, Liam spotted Louis’ van pulling into the school lot. He stood up straighter and smiled brightly.

The van came to a stop near the sidewalk, and Louis stepped out. He smiled at Liam as he walked towards the three.

“So how was school today, _kids_?” he teased. Niall blew roughly through his nose and glared at Louis. “Oh, right, sorry,” the older boy said, “I mean ‘kids and should-be-kid’.”

“You know,” Niall began, “It’s kind of awkward when one of the ‘kids’ you’re talking about is up the duff with _your_ baby, don’t you think?”

Liam blushed and Louis dropped his grin. “You always have to take it to dark places, don’t you, Niall? Can’t play the innocent card for just a moment?”

“So that’s why you and Liam are together. You like them innocent,” Niall retorted.

At this Harry snickered, causing Niall to loose any cheerful manner he’d worked up and stiffen again. Louis glanced between the two, then frowned. He looked to Liam for an explanation, but the boy only shrugged.

“Alright,” Louis stated, “we’ll leave you two to your… silent treatment, I guess. Ready to go, Li?”

Liam nodded and bent to pick up his bag. He found it wasn’t where he’d dropped it, and when he looked back at Louis he saw the older boy slinging it over his own shoulder as he started toward the van.

“You don’t have to do that,” Liam argued, following him.

Louis grinned as he set the bag in the backseat. “You won’t let me do nice things for you, so I have to do them by force. You’ll find you’re not the only one here who’s good at the stubborn game, Liam.”

Liam rolled his eyes and looked back over his shoulder at his friends. Niall was already gone, but Harry was just where Liam had left him- leaning against the wall and texting someone on his phone.

“Harry?” Liam called. The boy looked up and slid his phone back into his pocket.

“Yeah?”

“Do you have a ride?”

Harry shook his head. “Robin’s trying to get off work, but they’re busy right now. I’ll probably walk, don’t worry.”

Louis, who’d also turned to face Harry, reached behind him to open the back door. “No way, Styles. Get in,” he ordered, motioning to the back seat. “I can drop you off after Liam’s ultrasound.”

“You don’t have to,” Harry stated, but already had his bags in hand and was walking to the van.

Finally they were pulling out of the school parking lot. Liam settled back into the seat and felt a profound calm spread through him- it was contradictory though, like the unsettling calm before a storm, that empty feeling of anxiety and dread. Unbidden, Liam’s hand found Louis’ on the middle console. The older boy gave Liam’s hand a small squeeze of recognition.

The ride was shorter than Liam would have liked, and they were soon pulling into the parking garage of the hospital.

“You coming in, Harry?” Louis asked as the van came to a stop. Harry shook his head.

“No,” he replied, “I think I’ll stay here and wait for you guys. First ultrasound, that’s a private thing.”

Louis smiled gratefully at the boy, then opened his door to get out. “Right then, come on Li.”

Liam didn’t move, and instead continued staring out the windshield, looking very sick.

“Liam?” Louis repeated. From the back, Harry sat up straighter and looked over his friend.

Liam swallowed and twitched his shoulders, then finally took notice of Louis watching him worriedly from the other side of the car. “Hm? Oh, right, yeah, inside… yeah, I’m coming,” he muttered, quietly opening his door and stepping onto the pavement.

“Louis,” he called as they reached the door into the elevator. “How are we going to… you know… handle this?”

Louis tilted his head and stopped walking. “How do you mean? Like the insurance?”

Liam could only nod.

Louis smiled and shook his head. “Babe, didn’t I tell you not to worry about it? Didn’t I tell you I’d take care of it? Well, I did- I know one of the nurses who works here, you see, she’s a friend of my mother’s from way back. She’s going to make sure this doesn’t go down as an pre-natal, but just a regular check-up. That way, even when Karen gets a statement or anything, it’ll just look like you got checked out for being sick- she’ll remember when you were sick, yeah, before you found out about the baby? I mean, she may still lecture you, but that’s better than the alternative.”

Liam felt a bit of relief on learning there was still a good chance his mother wouldn’t find out yet. He let out a breath that had been tightening in his chest and fell into Louis.

Louis laughed lightly and embraced the boy. “Told you to count on me, Li,” he murmured. Liam smiled against Louis’ neck.

Louis glanced at the clock above the elevator- two minutes to be at the front desk. He pulled back enough to press a kiss into Liam’s hair, then took him by the hand and resumed walking toward the elevator.

They quickly reached the appropriate floor, and Louis signed Liam in at the desk. He took the nervous boy by the hand and led him to a row of chairs then helped him in into a seat- Liam decided it wasn’t the time to argue.

He felt out of place in the waiting room, though, as he looked around at the others gathered there. Most of the room’s occupants were women, the few men in the room other than Louis and Liam were sitting beside their partners looking either pale or completely at ease. Some of the women seemed to be closer to the stage of pregnancy as Liam, not really showing, while others had to lean back in their seats to accommodate for large, distended stomachs. Liam felt a surge of self-consciousness and crossed his arms over his chest while sitting up straighter to pull his feet into the chair. Louis chuckled beside him and leaned over to kiss his cheek.

“Don’t worry so much, Li-bear,” he whispered as he pulled away. Liam grinned reluctantly.

Louis smiled at him a moment longer, then turned to look around the room. His eyes caught on something, rather _someone_ , and he tapped Liam’s shoulder as he stood up. Liam followed him and glance in the direction of Louis’ gaze. Striding towards them from across the room was Louis’ mother.

“Mum?” Louis called, walking to meet her. Liam followed slowly behind, anxiety twisting in his stomach. He’d met Louis’ mother a few times before at school events, but he didn’t know well enough to know how she would react to news of the baby. He was thinking of some backstory, a tale to tell of why he and Louis were in that particular wing of the hospital, when-

“Liam, dear, how are you feeling? You must be exhausted, I remember all too well how much carrying a baby takes it out of a person”

Liam paled and stiffened, looking desperately to Louis for some inclination that she was joking about the wing of the hospital they were in- but the older boy stood reticent, pouring an odd amount of interest into a policy sheet tacked to a notice board.

“You- you know?” Liam stuttered, crossing his arms over his chest once again.

Johannah smiled kindly at him and gripped his upper arm lightly. “Of course I do, love, you really think Louis’ would be any good at keeping such a big secret from me? In _our_ family? Oh, no sir, not a chance,” she stated. “I knew just after the little devil went to that nurse to have the appointment report… _fixed_ , so to speak.”

“Ansley _swore_ she wouldn’t tell you,” Louis murmured, now daring to look at Liam.

“You’re smarter than that, Lou. Well,” Johannah remarked, “at least I’d hoped you were. Now, Liam, I’ve already given Louis my _very best_ disappointed mother’s speech, but I’ll spare you the talk since I’m sure your own mother will… give you quite enough to think about, I suppose.” Her eyes were almost apologetic at the last sentence, and she reaffirmed her grip on Liam’s arm before pulling away.

Louis reached up to put a gentle hand on Liam’s shoulder, understanding as he was about Liam’s anxiety to the subject of breaking their news to his mother.

Johannah nodded briskly and took a step back. “By the way, Louis, I’ve taken the liberty of saving you from imprisonment due to insurance fraud by simply using a few favors and pulling a few strings to have this appointment put on my policy. You can thank me when you’re free to see the birth of your child. Now, I should go, and you two are about to be called in- don’t worry, I’m sure everything will be just fine. I expect to see you both at my house for dinner tonight around five., and no excuses that your mother won’t allow it, Liam- I know you told her you wouldn’t be home until late. It’s hit me that my son is going to be a father, and I’m going to be a grandmother, and I want to get to know the baby’s other parent.” With that, she turned around and walked away.

A few moments in silence passed, and Louis turned to face Liam. Liam did not return this action, and instead walked quietly to sit down. Louis trailed desperately behind him.

A minute later, and Liam was called back to the examination room. Louis followed after him, still in silence. Liam pulled himself on the table (which thankfully, this time, was more like a padded bed instead of a metal table- it even curved in just the right place to take the pressure off his lower back if he were to lie back) and pushed himself into a sitting position as the nurse left with the promise of returning with a technician soon. Louis stood beside Liam and waited for him to speak, the younger boy would start the conversation when he was ready, and Louis would not rush him.

Finally, Liam took in a breath and said, “Why didn’t you tell me she knew?”

Louis was relieved that Liam didn’t sound angry, just confused, and confusion he could fix. “She confronted me last night, Li, I couldn’t have told you until this morning. And I was going to, I wanted you to know just in case, but you looked so nervous when I picked you up… I didn’t want to add to that, you know? I just wanted you to relax, to be calm for the check-up- I didn’t think she’d be up here or that she’d bring it up to you,” he explained, his voice soft and pleading. “I’m so sorry, Liam, please, don’t be upset with me.”

Liam looked at Louis and took in his troubled eyes. He brushed his fingers down Louis’ arm and took his hand, then leaned to lie his head on Louis’ shoulder. “I’m not upset,” he murmured, “I just wish you would have told me.” Louis slipped an arm around Liam’s lower back and let out an uneasy breath. Liam pulled back and smiled at him.

“So, how’d she take it?”

Louis  chuckled. “Nearly took my head off. Gave me the whole speech, you know? ‘How could you _be_ so irresponsible? _How did you even manage to get him pregnant, does your stupidity break the laws of nature?!_ _COULDN’T YOU HAVE AT LEAST WAITED UNTIL HE WAS OUT OF SCHOOL?!?_ ’. Then she calmed down, you know, enough so’s not to have a heart attack or anything, and starts asking how you were doing and if the baby was okay. Just the sort of things mothers who’re about to become grandmothers worry about, I suppose.”

Liam smiled brighter and felt his cheeks heat up. It should have upset him that Louis mother cared about him more than his _own_ mother, but instead it made him feel very warm. He wished that the table was big enough for Louis to jump up beside him, because he really wanted to curl into Louis’ side.

There would have to be time for that later, though, as the technician came in soon after.

“Liam, right?” the woman asked, pulling a machine towards her as she sat down. A screen sat on top of the machine, and clipped beside it was a thick wire than ended in a cylinder with a grip. The woman nodded for Liam to lie back. Louis adjusted his grip on Liam’s hand to accommodate this position change.

The woman cut off the lights in the room and turned on the machine, then took a hold of the cylinder and a tube of gel. Liam shifted uncomfortably on the table, his anxiety making it hard to lie still.

“I should warn you, this is going to be cold,” she stated as she pushed up Liam’s shirt. Louis’ eyes drifted over the small above Liam’s hips, and he didn’t mind at all when Liam’s grip tightened on his hand as the cool gel was spread over his stomach. He was too in love with everything about Liam and their baby to care.

The woman moved the cylinder in slow, ever-tightening circles around Liam’s abdomen, her eyes always on the screen. Liam stared at the ceiling, every now and then squeezing Louis’ hand for comfort.

“There we are,” the woman murmured, reaching towards the screen and tapping on a spot of light grey and white in a field of black. Louis’ breath caught, as did Liam’s, as they looked on their baby for the first time. The woman smiled at them for a moment, then reached slowly to press a button on the side of the screen.

An odd, softly beating sound filled the room, and it hit the boys that it was the sound of their baby’s heart. As this realization came over him, Louis felt his own heart speed up in his chest.

“It only takes ten weeks for a fetus to have a steady heartbeat,” the tech explained. “This little one’s heart sounds nice and strong, right where it should be for it’s stage of development.” She looked at Liam, who managed to tear his gaze away the screen long enough to spare her a glance. “You’re doing a wonderful job taking care of your baby.”

Louis gave Liam’s hand a squeeze, and turned in time to see the boy’s resolve break and tears slip down his cheeks. Liam covered his mouth, but Louis’ could see the boy’s watery smile begin to form. Louis’ own eyes were beginning to water, no matter how much he fought it, and he reach with his free hand to brush the bangs out of Liam’s face.

“I’ll give you two a moment before we continue with the check-up, okay? I need to go get a blood pressure gauge, something to take a bit of blood, then track down that nurse again, anyway. I’ll be back momentarily,” the tech smiled as she removed the gel from Liam’s stomach and let him pull down his shirt. She stood from the stool she’d pulled up, carefully turned off the machine and back on the lights, then exited the room.

Louis bent into a partial crouch to be more level with Liam, and pressed a kiss against the boy’s cheek. “Liam, love, how do you feel?” he asked softly, afraid to break the quiet environment.

Liam removed his hand and opened his mouth to speak, but found himself unable to do much more than let out a breathy squeak. He sat up and looked to Louis.

“That’s our _baby_ , Lou… _our_ _baby_ ,” Liam squeaked, trembling and crying silently but still smiling. “We’re going to have a _baby_..”

“We are,” Louis breathed. Liam turned so that his legs hung off the table and he could see the door when the nurse came back in, and Louis stepped around the table to stand beside him. He slid an arm around Liam’s shoulders and pulled the shivering boy into his chest, wrapping his other arm around Liam’s back. Liam gripped at Louis’ shirt, but kept one arm securely pressed against his stomach.

Louis nuzzled into Liam’s hair, a feeling of warmth and realization spreading through his body. He was going to be a father, and he’d just seen his baby for the first time. He smiled brightly into his partner's hair and whispered, “It all feels so real now…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One Direction made a statement, and I'm making one too. I'm going to keep writing as though nothing has changed. The Ziall-explaination side story I was planning to write after this is still going to happen. I will not find some clever literary device to cut Zayn from this work, or any other work I'm doing, or any future work. End of.
> 
> http://burning-burning-burning.tumblr.com/post/114627362132/oath


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